U.S. judge orders election boards to extend count of absentee ballots in New York state primary

FILE PHOTO: A man in a surgical mask walks by an illuminated flag of The United States as the coronavirus outbreak continued in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge late on Monday ordered all local boards of election in New York state to count "thousands" of absentee ballots received the day after a congressional primary held last June 23 but previously disqualified because of postmark problems.

According to the ruling by Judge Analisa Torres of Federal District Court in Manhattan, the absentee ballots are to be counted "without regard to whether such ballots are postmarked by June 23." Carolyn Maloney, the Democratic Party incumbent, got 40.29% of votes previously counted, while challenger Suraj Patel received 38.43%.