You are reading

Queens Supreme Court Judge Orders Two Bangladeshi Candidates Back on Ballot

Mary Jobaida (Mary for Assembly)

May 5, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Two Bangladeshi women are back on the ballot in an upcoming Queens primary after a judge ruled against the Board of Elections’ (BOE) decision to remove them for technicalities last week.

On Monday, Queens Supreme Court Judge Leonard Livote ordered Mary Jobaida, who hopes to unseat Cathy Nolan in Assembly District 37, and Moumita Ahmed, who is vying to be the Democratic district leader in Assembly District 24, to appear on their respective June 23 ballots.

The BOE had knocked the candidates off the ballot over discrepancies in their names.

The Board ruled that the name each had filed to run on didn’t match the name they are registered to vote with.

For instance, Jobaida is registered to vote under her legal name “Meherunnisa,” but filed her petition to appear on the ballot with her nickname “Mary.”

Likewise, Ahmed has campaigned for the Democratic district leader position under her personal name “Moumita,” but had registered to vote under her legal name “Atqiya.”

Many said the BOE’s ruling was xenophobic — a move to keep two Bangladeshi Muslim women out of office.

Judge Livote called the BOE’s ruling “impermissibly narrow.”

He noted previous cases where a candidate named “Michael” was allowed to run under “Mike” and another candidate named “Martin” was allowed to run under “Marty.”

Moumita Ahmed pictured center (Moumita Ahmed for District Leader)

Supporters said the Board used cultural differences with each woman’s name to get rid of them. The Queens Democratic Socialists called the move “despicable and racist.”

Judge Livote said the diversity of Queens calls for a wider view of the name requirements and what constitutes a nickname.

“In a county as diverse as Queens, with many exotic and unfamiliar names, an expansive view must be taken of what is familiar or diminutive,” Livote wrote. “Thus, the position taken by the Board is impermissibly narrow.”

Both women will appear on the ballot on June 23 under their personal names.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Myrtle Avenue honors late BID founder with plaza co-naming

Jun. 30, 2025 By QNS News Team

Council Member Robert Holden and local leaders officially co-named the 71st Avenue Plaza at Myrtle Avenue as Herman Hochberg Plaza last week, honoring a longtime civic leader and businessman whose decades of service helped shape Ridgewood’s commercial and community landscape.

Resorts World officially submits bid to expand Queens casino into $5.5B full-scale resort

Resorts World New York City put all its chips on the table when it officially submitted its bid to the New York State Gaming Commission hours ahead of the Friday deadline, the latest step toward unlocking an eye-popping $5.5 billion vision to build a world-class integrated resort in Southeast Queens.

Building on fifteen years of community partnerships, the 5.6 million-square-foot proposal to expand the city’s only casino would create thousands of union jobs, generate billions of dollars for education and transit, and deliver a new era of inclusive growth for Southeast Queens and expansive public amenities.