You are reading

Political Candidates Required to Get Signatures to Be on the Ballot: Court Ruling

(Pexels)

Feb. 23, 2021 By Christina Santucci

A state supreme court justice has dismissed a lawsuit filed by nearly 100 political candidates that sought to cancel the requirements for in-person signatures required to get on the ballot.

The group of more than 100 plaintiffs, including about a dozen Queens candidates, filed suit Feb. 8 against Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, asking for the signature requirement to be lifted because of the pandemic.

The plaintiffs also called on the state to come up with a new process to determine who qualified to be on the ballot.

Justice Frank P. Nervo, in rendering his decision, sided with state officials, who had already lowered the number of signatures required by candidates last month to lessen the health risks.

“The legislature and executive are the branches of government best equipped to exercise judgment in response to COVID-19’s impact on the electoral process,” Justice Nervo wrote, as opposed to the judiciary.

The plaintiffs argued that gathering signatures is a risk to public health, a violation of the constitution. The constitution mandates the state to protect public health — as well as the right to free speech and equal protection under the law, which the suit said would be violated if candidates and their supporters had to collect signatures in person.

Justice Nervo acknowledged in his decision that the pandemic had made the petitioning process more difficult and necessitated additional safety measures.

But he called the request to remove the signature requirements — as opposed to reducing them — “a disagreement of judgement, not constitutionality.”

Political candidates must collect a threshold of signatures depending on which office they are running for, but they typically gather many more than needed in case the signatures are challenged by their opponents.

On Jan. 28, Cuomo signed the state legislature’s bill to reduce the number of signatures by about 70 percent. For example, City Council candidates are now required to collect 270 signatures from registered voters in their district, instead of 900.

Candidates are scheduled to begin collecting signatures on March 2 in order for them to appear on the ballot. The petitions, with the requisite number of signatures, must be filed with the Board of Elections from March 22 to 25.

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

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.

Motorcyclist killed after crashing into barrier on Jackie Robinson Parkway in Ridgewood: NYPD

A Floral Park man was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed on the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Ridgewood on the morning of Thursday, June 26.

Daniel Moore, 39, of Cunningham Avenue, was riding a black 2010 Harley-Davidson Super Glide traveling eastbound on the highway through Highland Park when he failed to navigate the roadway near Cypress Avenue and struck a concrete divider, police said Thursday. The impact ejected Moore from the bike.