Fate of Women’s Equality Party in Dutchess goes to court

POUGHKEEPSIE – Dutchess County State Supreme Court Justice Peter Forman will hear arguments today for and against the Women’s Equality Party in this November’s election.
County Republican Chairman Michael McCormack filed a challenge to the party seeking to keep it off the ballot.
The court challenge is “an attempt to invalidate the Women’s Equality Party from existing despite the numbers of voters who supported it,” said County Democratic Party Chairwoman Elisa Sumner. She said the move “represents a new low for Dutchess Republicans.”
Sumner said the Women’s Equality Party achieved the 50,000 vote threshold in the last gubernatorial election, a number required by state law to become an official party in New York.
The other new party in last year’s election was also an issue based party created by the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nominee, Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino. Called the “Stop Common Core Party”, it also garnered the required number of signatures to create a new party. Sumner said the Republicans changed the name of the new party to “Reform: where Republicans can run on an addition line in November while “negating those voters who legitimized the Stop Common Core line last year.”