The LP is appealing the denial of its motion in the battle to repeal the 2020 “Cuomo rules,” that reverse the permanent ballot status the party earned in New York in the 2018 election. Interestingly, the party’s attorney ran into the same kind of biased judge behavior as claimed by Trump in the November 3 election integrity cases, where the court threw out the motion before even hearing the evidence. Maybe BLM was right that “the system is against us,” only the “us” turns out to be, well, us:
In March 2020, the New York State Legislature passed a state budget, under the cover of the COVID pandemic, that included provisions to increase ballot access petitioning and vote thresholds meant to remove the Libertarian Party of New York and other minor parties from the ballot.
In July 2020, in conjunction with the Green Party of New York, the LPNY filed a Federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the New York State Board of Elections to declare the new thresholds unconstitutional.
In December 2020, we filed a motion for preliminary injunction to enjoin the NYSBOE from implementing these Draconian thresholds, and to restore our automatic ballot access and petitioning thresholds through the 2022 election cycle.
We asked for your help then, and you came through for us. Through your generous donations, we were able to retain Oliver Hall, one of the nation’s top ballot access litigators. On April 28, 2021, Mr. Hall presented the oral argument in favor of our motion for preliminary injunction before Judge John Koeltl, a partisan Clinton appointee with a long history of conflicts of interest.
Despite being a nationally-known ballot access expert with a firm grasp of related case law, the full extent of Mr. Hall’s case was never heard. Incomprehensibly, he was interrupted by Judge Koeltl at least thirty-six times while Oliver tried to present the LPNY’s argument.
Thirty-six times.
The BOE lawyers, on the other hand, were allowed to defend their flawed argument with nearly no interruptions. They piled one adulation after another upon the judge for his questionable jurisprudence in the related SAM Party and WFP v. BOE ballot access case.
It quickly became evident that Judge Koeltl had made his decision before the hearing. If he hadn’t, we think he would have spent his time listening to the merits of both sides of the case and ruled in our favor. Instead, he went out of his way, to be combative with Mr. Hall while giving preferential treatment to the defendant’s attorneys and, ultimately, denying our motion for preliminary injunction.
If we had a dollar for each time Oliver was interrupted, we would be thirty-six dollars richer.
BUT – if each of you gave a dollar for each time Oliver was interrupted, we would be able to get this case heard on its merits.
Please support our effort to get the facts of our case appealed before an impartial panel of judges. Give $36 today in support of the ongoing lawsuit. If you’re able, donate another multiple of 36 – $72, $108, $144, or $360 – or whatever you’re able to protest the lack of respect and integrity shown to our attorney. Your anger, and your donation, will help us fuel the fight against these unjust political attacks and restore voter choice to New Yorkers.
Thank you in advance for whatever you are able to give.
In Liberty,
W. Cody Anderson
Chair, Libertarian Party of New York