Maloney challenger hits back at ‘absurd’ Trump comparison over mail-in ballots fight

Suraj Patel, a primary challenger to House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), on Tuesday blasted Maloney for comparing his position on voting by mail to President Trump’s on Tuesday.

Maloney, declaring victory on Tuesday, called upon Patel to “do as almost every other losing candidate has done: concede that the voters have spoken and stop validating Trump’s undermining our democratic processes.”

.@CarolynBMaloney applauds court decision to count some un-postmarked ballots, also calls on @surajpatelnyc to “concede that the voters have spoken and stop validating Trump’s undermining our democratic processes” pic.twitter.com/tJO4dWDahk

— Emily Ngo (@emilyngo) August 4, 2020

In response, Patel said “our fight is the exact opposite of Donald Trump’s,” contrasting his call for every vote to be counted with Trump “basically saying that voter fraud comes with vote-by-mail.”

“We have thousands of voters whose votes weren’t counted. The idea that I am somehow a mouthpiece for Donald Trump is absurd on its face — our arguments are the complete opposite,” Patel tweeted. “The democratic process doesn’t stop when it becomes politically inconvenient for you.”

We have thousands of voters whose votes weren’t counted. The idea that I am somehow a mouthpiece for Donald Trump is absurd on its face — our arguments are the complete opposite. The democratic process doesn’t stop when it becomes politically inconvenient for you. https://t.co/ncwdxVH6oy

— Suraj Patel #CountEveryVote (@surajpatelnyc) August 4, 2020

Trump has seized on the race to denounce mail-in voting. More than 12,000 mail-in ballots in the race have been disqualified for reasons including missing postmarks.

Trump on Monday suggested that the primary for the 12^th Congressional District should be redone due to the delays.

He has also claimed the presidential election could see a similarly delayed result if widespread mail-in voting is allowed. Numerous experts have said mail-in voting, which has been widely used for years in several Western states, is not a meaningful source of voter fraud.

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the state Elections Board to count over 1,000 disqualified absentee ballots in the race between Maloney and Patel.

It appears that the limited ruling will not be enough to impact the outcome of the race, however. The New York Times estimates the ruling will affect 1,200 ballots, but Maloney leads by a margin of about 3,700 votes.

The primary’s result has not been finalized more than six weeks after its June 23 date.