The “party of democracy” is trying to kick a third-party congressional candidate off the New York ballot out of fear he will take votes away from Democrat candidate Mondaire Jones, according to a new lawsuit. The move reflects national Democrats’ attempts to eliminate third-party candidates whose existence threatens their electoral chances.
The suit, filed by the Democrat Party leaders of Westchester and Putnam counties alongside four voters in the district, alleges that Anthony Frascone, who won the Working Families Party nomination during the June primary, poses a threat to Jones’ chances at victory by potentially siphoning votes from the former representative in New York’s 17th Congressional District. The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is seeking reelection after narrowly winning in 2022.
“[Frascone] has engaged in a subversive campaign to effect the outcome of the November 5, 2024 General election by siphoning and preventing the electorate from voting for” Jones, the suit alleges, claiming Frascone “devised a scheme to dilute the vote” on Election Day.
The suit accuses the third-party candidate of “ineffective, false, fraudulent, and invalid, election practices” and insists “his placement on the official ballots for the November 5, 2024 general election ballot as a candidate of the Working Families Party should be deemed null and void.”
The suit seeks to force the board of elections not to include his name on any further ballots.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Janet C. Malone issued an Order to Show Cause on Friday stating
