(CNN) Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is suing the New York State Board of Elections after the state election commission voted to cancel its presidential primary over coronavirus fears.

Yang, now a CNN contributor, filed the suit Tuesday alongside seven New York residents who had planned to serve as his delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

"This unprecedented and unwarranted move infringes the rights of Plantiffs and all New York State Democratic Party voters, of which there are estimated to be more than six million, as it fundamentally denies them the right to choose our next candidate for the office of President of the United States," the lawsuit states.

The filing joins a wave of opposition to the state election commission's decision. While multiple states have postponed primaries due to the coronavirus pandemic, New York is the first state to cancel outright.

Douglas Kellner, one of the Democratic commissioners on the board, told CNN the decision came after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign earlier this month, which "basically rendered the primary moot."

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