Hundreds of New Yorkers Allege Election Fraud in Lawsuit

As all eyes in the United States are on New York for one of the most important primaries in the 2016 presidential race, allegations of election fraud have suddenly emerged.

Hundreds of New York residents have signed onto a class-action lawsuit against the Board of Elections, claiming that their party registrations were changed without their knowledge.

Because New York is one of a handful of states that holds closed primaries, party registration is a crucial aspect of participating in the election process (as Donald Trump’s own children recently discovered).

The New York Daily News describes the emerging case:

The suit, to be filed Monday in Brooklyn, calls for New York to be an open primary state, allowing anyone to vote in primaries regardless of party affiliation. …

Numerous voters involved in the suit claim they looked up their voter registrations after the deadline passed to find that their party affiliation had changed from Democratic or Republican to “Not affiliated” or “Independent,” a switch that will bar them from voting in either primary.

Joanna Viscuso, 19, from Seaford … said she registered to vote as a Democrat during her college orientation at Adelphi University in 2014.

She noticed earlier this week that now her voter registration online says she is “not affiliated” with a party. …

Some voters involved in the lawsuit — who are primarily Democratic — also claim their voter registration had been canceled altogether.

According to a press release from Election Justice USA, a grass-roots activist coalition, “thousands of NY voters have been erroneously purged from the rolls.” As a result, the group stated Monday morning that it would be filing “an emergency lawsuit in New York Federal District Court today.” It has posted a “NY Voter Registration Problem Report Form” on its website so that voters who have experienced registration problems can attach their information to the lawsuit.

In the press release, Shyla Nelson, the organization’s spokeswoman, explained:

“We have heard hundreds of stories, with desperate pleas for help. This election season has excited and galvanized the voting public in unprecedented numbers. For these voters to be systematically and erroneously removed from the rolls or prevented from voting in their party of choice is devastating to them personally and has sent a wave of doubt and worry through the voting public.”

U.S. Uncut has shared anecdotes from New Yorkers who are alleging election fraud; one woman “discovered that someone had changed her voter registration in 2012, even forging her signature on the document,” while another man “assumed his registration was still with the Democratic Party, but recently found out his registration was changed to “Other” without his knowledge.”

This election season has been rife with accusations of election fraud, causing many Americans to question the effectiveness of closed primaries. If the allegations against the New York Board of Elections are true, it could disenfranchise hundreds of voters in Tuesday’s crucial primary.

Truthdig started hearing reports in March that party affiliation changes were occurring in New York. If this has happened to you in New York or any other state, please let us know in our Facebook comments section or send us a direct message on Facebook.