Judge dismisses election fraud lawsuit in Queens GOP primary
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A judge threw out Dany Chen’s (left) election fraud lawsuit against Yu-Ching James Pai, the winner of June’s GOP primary for the 20th City Council District. Photos via campaigns
By Ryan Schwach
A Queens judge last week tossed a case in which a candidate who ran for the Republican nom
ination in Queens’ 20th City Council District accused the race’s victor of election fraud – and called for a new election to be held altogether.
Judge Robert Caloras issued the dismissal on Friday, throwing out the case in which Republican candidate Dany Chen alleged Yu-Ching James Pai, the winner of Queens’ District 20 Republican primary, committed voter fraud on his way to the primary victory.
Caloras shot down Chen’s lawsuit, deciding that the local organizer had not filed enough proof that any fraud was committed in the election, saying, “the petition has failed to plead fraud with particularity and failed to state a cause of action.”
Chen had alleged that hundreds of absentee ballots were fraudulently requested and cast on behalf of legitimate voters in the Flushing district without their knowledge, and that Pai and his campaign associates were potentially responsible.
“Voters rights were taken away by false absentee ballots, registrations and false votes,” Chen previously told the Eagle. “The voters did not request the absentee ballot and someone cast a vote in their name fraudulently.”
The petitioners submitted affidavits of voters claiming they were told on election day that they could not vote at their polling site because absentee ballots had already been requested in their name. All of the voters submitting affidavits said they did not request absentee ballots.
Chen and his attorneys called for a new election should the fraud be proven, a move the court decided was unnecessary.
“Petitioner has failed to demonstrate instances of fraud, or even irregularities, in a sufficiently large number such that there is a probability that the results of the primary election would be changed, or such that it is rendered impossible for the court to determine who was rightfully elected, so that a new election is warranted,” the judge’s decision read.
As for the 38 affidavits Chen’s attorneys submitted, they did not go far enough, the judge said.
“Even giving petitioner the benefit of the doubt and taking into consideration petitioner’s bill of particulars with 38 purported voter affidavits annexed…petitioner has, nevertheless, failed to allege or demonstrate sufficient instances of fraud to meet the standard,” Caloras wrote.
Pai applauded the judge’s decision.
“We would like to thank all of our donors and voters supporting us through recent claims made by our primary election opponent,” Pai wrote in an emailed statement to the Eagle. “Our campaign's sole focus now is to win the seat at the City Council and continue to push forward our ideas: public safety, supporting small businesses, and quality education.”
Pai’s attorney had called the lawsuit a “weasel hunt” and “fishing expedition.”
Chen did not respond to the Eagle’s request for comment on the judge’s dismissal of the case.
The Republican race in the Flushing district, which is 72 percent Asian American, was the only GOP primary in the borough in June. Only 1,457 people voted in the race.
The November general election, where Pai is scheduled to face incumbent Democrat Sandra Ung, could potentially be one to watch, as the Asian electorate in the area has gradually moved to the right in recent years.
“In this majority Asian American district, the key message is that New York Democrats cannot take an easy re-election victory for Councilmember Sandra Ung for granted,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang. “Chinese-American voters have proven to be the new battleground swing voter in New York City that both Democrats and Republicans have paid or should pay attention to.”
In 2021, Republican candidate for mayor Curtis Sliwa came within only four percentage points of Mayor Eric Adams in the district, and in 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul narrowly edged Republican Lee Zeldin in District 20 by less than a percent.
