Sixty-eight “brave” voters have sued the state elections board, claiming they were prevented from voting under the name of “Biggest Loser” trainer Kara Castronuova as the Republican challenger to incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Castronuova, 44, was initially removed from the Republican ballot after party officials backing former New York Police Department detective Mike Supplycone as their candidate challenged the signatures he submitted to put his name before voters in April.
A judge ruled in May that voters could write in the former Golden Gloves boxer’s name, voters said in court documents, but Castronuova’s supporters argued that election workers didn’t know what to do and were thwarted because there was no Republican primary and no ballots for the party’s candidates.
“After asserting my lawful right to cast a write-in vote in an affidavit for the Republican candidate of my choice, I was given a Democratic primary affidavit,” Queens Village voter Phil Orenstein said in court documents. “I believe my vote will not be counted and that my sacred right to vote for the candidate of my choice has been violated.”
“We were told there would be no Republican primary because there was no challenge,” wrote voter Laura Schmidt, who went to the polls with her husband and a neighbor. “That’s not true. There are still open ballots, so there are no truly unopposed candidates.”
“We are calling for state relief to fix this glitch and give Republicans a fill-in affidavit ballot for every primary,” Schmidt, of Jamaica, continued.
Castronuova, who appeared as a trainer on season 11 of “Biggest Loser,” also joined the lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court. She called her fellow plaintiffs “brave.”
“New Yorkers are tired of the good ol’ men’s club controlling the crowned candidates like puppets on strings.
“I hope this sends a message to the Republican establishment that they are engaging in shameful acts of unconstitutionally blocking the right to vote for candidates who are not their puppets, depriving voters of their right to choose their candidate, and interfering with a fair and free election,” she added.
Mount Sinai South Nassau
An Election Commission spokesman said the allegations were “completely false”.
The elections board said in legal filings responding to the lawsuit that no ruling had been made that voters could write in Castronuova’s name, adding that his campaign had not applied for an “opportunity to vote,” a measure that requires a write-in ballot to be produced for the election.
“As a result, the primary election for this position was uncontested and the only qualified candidate was deemed to have been nominated as provided by law,” the commission said in court papers seeking to have the case dismissed.
