New York Democrats will not be casting primary votes for a presidential candidate this year.
State election officials effectively canceled the presidential primary by removing every Democrat except the presumptive nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, from the primary ballot.
According to multiple reports, Douglas Kellner, co-chair of the New York State Board of Elections, received thousands of emails from Sanders supporters pushing for the primary to continue as planned.
“What the Sanders campaign wanted is essentially a beauty contest that, given the situation with the public health emergency, seems to be unnecessary and, indeed, frivolous,” Mr. Kellner said.
The primary, originally scheduled for April 28, had previously been pushed back to June 23 due to concerns over the coronavirus.
Voting will continue as planned for New Yorkers on June 23 for congressional and state-level races.
The cancellation will likely make it easier for election workers to manage the other state elections in June during a primary season that has seen unprecedented administrative challenges.