Bernie Sanders’ campaign filed for an emergency injunction on Tuesday evening to extend voting hours in California by two hours.
The document, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, cited “extreme wait times” at multiple polling locations in Los Angeles as violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. (Polls were scheduled to close in the state at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET.)
“Multiple polling locations in the County have experienced extreme wait times for individuals to vote, including wait times up to four hours to cast a ballot. If an emergency TRO is not granted to keep the polls open for an additional two hours County voters’ right to participate in our democracy will be immediately and irreparably harmed,” the campaign’s filing said.
This is the first time California is holding its primary on Super Tuesday since 2008. Per the state’s primary rules, any candidate who receives more than 15 percent of the vote will be awarded some delegates. With 1,357 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday, coming in first in California — which represents 415 delegates — will be a major boost for the candidate who pulls it off.
Although all of the votes in California still need to be counted, numerous networks and outlets have projected he will come in first. As of the publication of this piece on Tuesday evening, Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden are still neck-in-neck in the race for delegates, with the latter holding a slight lead over the former.