Supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders are holding out hope that a New York federal judge will make a last-minute decision to open the state’s primary to independents and Republicans, potentially yielding Mr. Sanders thousands of additional votes on Tuesday.
Election Justice USA, a voting rights group, filed a lawsuit on Monday claiming that many New York voters had been erroneously purged from the rolls. It also claims that people who tried to switch their affiliation to Democrat last year are finding that the change did not take effect.
A hearing was scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
“It would be a wonderful victory for election justice in our country if they were to do so,” Shyla Nelson, a spokeswoman for Election Justice USA, said of a court decision to open the state’s primary. “We recognize it is a substantial request and one that we do not take lightly.”
Election Justice USA is not affiliated with the Sanders campaign, but Ms. Nelson acknowledged that an open primary would benefit the Vermont senator. Mr. Sanders has said it is “wrong” that voters who would like to back him are unable to do so.
Hopeful that the judge in Islip, N.Y., will rule in their favor on Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Nelson urged independent voters and those who had vanished from the rolls to vote with provisional ballots.
“We are asking that provisional ballots be counted so that there is an assurance that all votes actually counted today,” Ms. Nelson said.
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