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Sixty-eight “courageous” voters sued the state Board of Elections for allegedly preventing them from writing in the name of “Biggest Loser” trainer Cara Castronuova as a Republican challenger to incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Castronuova, 44, was initially kept off the GOP ballot when party leaders, who back retired NYPD Detective Mike Sapraicone as the candidate, challenged the signatures she submitted in April to have her name appear before voters.
A judge said in May that voters could write in the name of the former Golden Gloves boxer, the voters said in court papers. But Castronuova’s supporters contend they were stymied by election workers who didn’t know what to do — because there was no Republican primary in the race, and no ballots for the party’s candidates.
“After arguing for my right to legally vote by write-in on an affidavit ballot for the Republican candidate of my choice, I was handed a primary affidavit ballot for Democrats,” voter Phil Orenstein of Queens Village court papers. “I believe my vote will not be counted, and my sacred right to vote for the candidate of my choice was violated.”
“We were told there is no Republican primary contest because there is no opposing candidate,” wrote voter Laura Schmitt, who said she went to her polling place with her husband and neighbor. “That is not true. No candidate is ever truly unopposed, because the opposition remains the write-in.
“We require the state remedy to fix this glitch and give Republicans affidavit ballots with write-in options for every primary election,” Schmitt, of Jamaica, continued.
Castronuova, who appeared on Season 11 of the “Biggest Loser” as a trainer, also joined the Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit. She called fellow plaintiffs “courageous.”
“New Yorkers are fed up with the good old boys club controlling coronated candidates like puppets on a string.
“I hope this is a message to the GOP establishment that they are a disgrace for robbing their own voters of a choice in candidates and interfering in fair and free elections by unconstitutionally blocking ballot access for candidates that are not their puppets,” she added.
Mount Sinai South Nassau
The allegations “are unequivocally false,” a Board of Elections spokeswoman said.
There was no ruling that voters would be able to write-in Castronuova’s name, the Board of Elections said in legal papers filed in response to the lawsuit, adding her camp failed to file for an “opportunity to ballot,” the means by which they could have asked for write-in ballots to be created for the race.
“As a result, the primary election for this office was not contested and the sole qualifying candidate was deemed nominated by operation of law,” the Board said in court papers seeking to get the case tossed.