New York County Republican Organizations around the State have filed Lawsuits trying to Remove Democrats from the Working Families Party (WFP) Line ahead of the June Primaries.
The move comes as Local Republicans in at least Three Counties have also tried to Co-Opt the WFP Ballot Line, a move they made, after other Minor Parties they relied on, to Boost their Voting Totals in Elections were Booted from the Ballot under New State Election Ballot Thresholds.
Lawsuits in State Supreme Court have been filed in: Albany, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady Counties.
The Lawsuits allege that the WFP’s Executive Committee did Not properly Authenticate Petitions from Democrats seeking to Run on the WFP Line.
The Lawsuit filed in Albany County is asking Albany County Supreme Court Judge, Michael Mackey, to Invalidate the Petitions filed by more than 40 Albany County Democrats. A Hearing on the Lawsuit is set for 1 p.m. on April 20th. Randy Bashwinger, the Albany County GOP Chairman, said the WFP appeared to have Copied and Pasted the Signatures Authorizing the Petitions, rather than have Original Handwritten Signatures, for most Counties in the State.
"They did it all the way through," he said. "Hopefully the ruling causes the candidates to lose the WFP line. If the shoe was on the other foot, I guarantee we'd lose our endorsements."
A State WFP Spokeswoman previously said they are Confident that their Process was Legal under an Executive Order Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo D) Signed last year that Allows for Electronic Notarization during the Coronavirus Pandemic. "No county Board of Elections and no politically motivated Republican commissioner acting alone has the authority to override state law, and no court will find that a Board of Election (BOE) or Republican Commissioner can do so. There is no question that any challenge to our legally valid documents will fail," the Spokesperson said in a statement.
Anita Thayer, the WFP's Secretary, said she believed the Party's Authorizations were Property Filed. "What I think is that Republicans can't win the battle of ideas and are looking for shortcuts," she said.
As News of the Lawsuits trickled out, Local Democratic Organizations expressed Outrage, trying to compare the Electoral Maneuvering to Voter Suppression and the New Voting Rules passed in Georgia.
“It’s so sad to see the voter suppression tactics of Georgia come to our community. Local Republicans are suing Bethlehem’s Democratic candidates to push us off the ballot for accepting the Working Families Party endorsement,” Bethlehem Supervisor, David VanLuven, wrote on Facebook.
Albany County Democratic Chairman, Jake Crawford, said Democratic Candidates will move forward despite the Lawsuit. "I won't comment on a pending legal fight between the minor parties in Albany County but our endorsed Democratic candidates are going to have the resources and support they need from the party to successfully win the election on Row A in November," he said in a statement.
Local GOP Organizations in Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady Counties have been trying to Enroll more of their Members in the WFP since the Independence Party was Removed from the Ballot after Not receiving enough Votes in the 2020 Presidential Election, although each County push has a slightly Different Local wrinkle.
In Rensselaer County last month, the GOP is attempting to Register Supporters in the WFP to Seize the Ballot Line to Challenge the WFP's Endorsed Candidate for County Executive, Gwen Wright (D). Since November, the WFP in Rensselaer County has more than Doubled in Size to roughly 2,000 Enrollees.
Schenectady and Saratoga Counties saw similar Migrations, as Independence Party Members have Migrated to the WFP.
In Schenectady County, many of the Independence Party Members were Schenectady Firefighters, who are at the End of their Current Contract.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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