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Queens judge tosses challenge to Rajkumar in NYC's latest case of alleged election fraud
By
David Brand
Published Apr 30, 2026
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New York State Assembly
By
David Brand
Published Apr 30, 2026
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A veteran state lawmaker from Queens withstood a challenge to her position on the Democratic primary ballot Thursday after a judge dismissed on procedural grounds a lawsuit from her opponent claiming her campaign submitted hundreds of forged signatures.
The ruling means Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar’s name will appear on the ballot in the June primary for a Queens district she has represented since 2021.
Her opponent, David Orkin, is a lawyer endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. He had sued to disqualify her, claiming that his campaign had found forgeries among the signatures she submitted to secure a ballot line.
New York election law requires candidates to submit at least 500 signatures from registered party voters living in the district they hope to represent in order to appear on the ballot for an Assembly primary.
Orkin said in his lawsuit that at least seven signature collectors had forged names on the forms and that, combined, those collectors had obtained about 70% of Rajkumar’s signatures.
Queens Judge Denise Johnson did not rule on the merits of those claims and instead dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Orkin and his attorneys had failed to properly serve the signature collectors and record those documents with the court.
In a written statement, Rajkumar praised the judge’s ruling.
“This was an ugly attempt by the Democratic Socialists of America to disenfranchise Queens voters, especially minority voters, and to bully a team of young South Asian and minority canvassers who represent the future of our state,” she said. “They failed.”
Orkin and his lawyer Renee Paradis countered that he was railroaded by representatives of the Queens Democratic Party and did not get a chance to make their argument in court. Rajkumar’s attorneys Frank Bolz and Gerard Sweeney are two partners in a law firm with enormous influence over the Queens Democratic Party and its picks for judicial candidates.
“What you saw in there was the Democratic machine trying to crush a grassroots campaign,” Orkin said immediately following the decision.
Orkin’s lawyers had planned to question at least seven signature collectors in court. But Johnson’s ruling allowed the canvassers to leave without testifying. None of them agreed to answer questions from Gothamist at the courthouse Thursday
Sweeney, one of Rajkumar’s lawyers, told the judge that the claims were a “fishing expedition” and that Orkin’s campaign had failed to properly record its subpoenas in order to “ambush” Rajkumar and the campaign workers.
"They do not want us to know what they are going to do as if it’s a state secret of the socialist party,” Sweeney said.
Petition fraud allegations are common each election season, but rarely result in a candidate’s disqualification.
None of the people who said their names were forged had an opportunity to testify in court as a result of the judge’s dismissal. Eight of them attended the proceedings, including Woodhaven resident Gray Kennedy.
Kennedy said they legally changed their name last year and never signed Rajkumar’s petition forms. But Rajkumar’s petition purported to have gathered Kennedy's former name and signature.
“It's bizarre,” Kennedy said. “It definitely does feel like a violation.”
Several others said they were also upset to see their supposed signatures appear on documents they said they never signed, including Molly Dektar, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who also came to court Thursday.
“Just to see someone write my name and my address as though it was me when I know for sure it wasn't, it hurts,” Dektar said. “It's unfair.”
Earlier Thursday, the Queens Chronicle newspaper detailed how Rajkumar’s petitions also included the forged signature of one of its editors.
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David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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