Judge orders mail-in votes be RECOUNTED in Congressional race touted by Trump as proof absentee ballots can't be trusted
A MANHATTAN judge has ruled that disputed absentee ballots in the state's closely-watched Congressional primary should be counted.
The Monday night ruling by Judge Analisa Torres in New York City forced the counting of more than 1,000 of the 12,500 disputed ballotsmailed six weeks ago.
⚠️ Follow our US election 2020 live blog for the latest news & updates
But the ruling may not affect the outcome of the June 23 primary: Rep Carolyn B Maloney is still ahead of Democratic challenger Suraj Patel by about 3,700 votes.
Under Judge Torres' decision, ballots received on June 24 – the day after Election Day – will be counted "without regard to whether such ballots are postmarked by June 23", according to the New York Times.
Patel praised the decision and said the fiasco could foreshadow possible complications in the November presidential election.
“This is no longer a Democratic or a Republican fight, this is not an establishment versus progressive fight,” he told the Times.
“This is now a fight for the voting rights of millions in a pandemic.”
Last week, postal officials acknowledged that their current system of identifying and postmarking ballots was flawed, and that some hadn't been postmarked.
The decision came hours after President Donald Trump maligned the New York primary as "a mess" and a "total disaster" before ripping the mail-in voting process.
He suggested a revote amid the acknowledgement of the state's slow ballot count.
"I think you probably have to take the Carolyn Maloney race and run it over again," Trump said at a White House press briefing on Monday.
"How can you do this? And this is a small race with literally thousands of people. Small thousands. And it’s all messed up."
"They’re six weeks into it now. They have no clue what’s going on," he added.
The president, who has repeatedly claimed without evidence that voting by mail will lead to rampant fraud, also slammed Nevada Gov Steve Sissolak.
MOST READ IN NEWS
FLASH IN THE FAN 
I got my boobs out in front of kids – I got dumped & was branded a paedo
Inside rise in porn star deaths as actors plagued with threats and suicides
Miss America contestant's husband killed in front of baby as teen arrested
My toddler spent £1,500 on furniture while playing with my phone
Sissolak signed a bill that will send ballots to all registered voters in the state for the November 3 election.
Trump called the legislation an "illegal late night coup" and said his administration was already preparing a lawsuit.
"We will be suing in Nevada. And that's already been taken care of, we'll probably file something tomorrow," he told reporters.
Source: Read Full Article