New York Cancels Presidential Primarybr Due to COVID-19 Pandemic For the first time ever, Democrats on the New Yorkbr State Board of Elections have decided to cancelbr the state’s Democratic presidential primary. New York is now the first state to cancel primariesbr altogether, as the Republican presidential primarybr was already canceled in early March. Other states have chosen to postponebr their primaries and make voting by mail morebr accessible amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Jay Jacobs, chair of the New Yorkbr Democratic Party, canceling the June 23 primarybr “makes so much sense,” given the current situation. Although congressional and state-level primariesbr are still being held that day, canceling thebr presidential primary will greatly reduce voterbr turnout and, in turn, the need for polling places. In addition, around 20 of the state’sbr 62 counties have ballots with no contest,br meaning voters in those counties willbr now not need to go to the polls. The cancellation of the primary hasbr been met with fire from Bernie Sandersbr and his supporters, as he had hoped tobr stay on the ballot and amass delegates. In a statement, Bernie’s adviser, Jeff Weaver, calledbr the decision a “blow to American democracy.