[JURIST] New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron [official profile] on Monday ruled that New York election officials may certify the recent primary election results after rejecting a challenge to the state’s “closed primary” system. New York attorney Mark Warren Moody sued the city and state election officials claiming millions of state citizens were barred from voting because they did not change their party affiliations by October 2015. Moody argued that the October deadline was a large hindrance on the ability of voters to participate in the recent primary. Moody reportedly accepted [New York Daily News report] the judge’s decision as fair but urged for the issue to be resolved in the future.

Voting rights remain a controversial legal issue in the US, particularly during this election season. Last week an Arizona judge dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] alleging fraud during the primary elections. The US Department of Justice had previously notified [JURIST report] Maricopa County, Arizona, officials that it would investigate the issues voters in Arizona’s most populous county faced during the March 22 primary election. Earlier in March an Ohio judge granted an emergency order [JURIST report] allowing 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by the November general election to vote in the Ohio primary.