Eric Adams filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to reserve his right to have a judge review the ballots in the Democratic primary for mayor.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Kings County Supreme Court, preserves the campaign’s rights to challenge the results once they are official. Though experts say such legal action is standard, it comes just a day after Mr. Adams and other candidates blasted the New York City Board of Elections for accidentally counting 135,000 test ballots in a preliminary tally of the ranked-choice results of the Democratic primary.
“Today we petitioned the court to preserve our right to a fair election process and to have a judge oversee and review ballots, if necessary,” the Adams campaign said in a statement. “We invite the other campaigns to join us and petition the court as we all seek a clear and trusted conclusion to this election.”
Andrew Yang filed a similar suit before the election, but he withdrew it after he conceded following a fourth-place finish in the initial vote.
Under state law, a candidate must file a challenge within 10 days after the primary, before all of the results may have been finalized. That’s why many candidates file so-called prophylactic lawsuits, said Jerry H. Goldfeder, a well-known election lawyer who is not representing any candidate in the mayoral contest.
“Even without the error by the board,” Mr. Goldfeder said, “it’s fairly standard for candidates to begin these lawsuits to protect their rights if down the road they disagree with the board ruling in the race.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
