By Adam Kramer
The date for incumbents and political hopefuls to get their names on the ballot for the Sept. 10 primary and Nov. 5 election is fast approaching. Candidates must file their campaign petitions July 22-25.
The beginning of the petitioning process was delayed a few weeks until the U.S. Justice Department approved New York state’s redistricting plan. The holdup occurred because the state Legislature took a long time to agree on a plan to lay out new congressional, state senate and state assembly districts throughout the state.
Every candidate — except those for statewide office — must garner the required number of signatures to get their name on the ballot. Candidates for governor, attorney general and comptroller can be nominated by their party or file a petition to get on the ballot.
A candidate for the U.S. Congress needs 1,250 signatures, while a state senate hopeful needs 1,000 people to sign a petition and a state assembly candidate must gather 500 signatures. Candidates for statewide office who failed to receive a party nomination must file a petition with 15,000 signatures.
Once petition filing dates end, candidates and their staffs have three days to file general written objections to their opponents’ petitions with the hope of narrowing the field of competitors. A person who has submitted general objections must file the specifics to the objections within six days.
The challenges against candidates frequently weed out some of the minor contenders in crowded races and set the stage for the September primary.
There are many different ways for an objector to dispute a candidate’s signatures — ranging from claims of forgery to illegible signatures and dates to names signed without the required use of pen ink.
John Gallagher, a spokesman for state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) said the petition process is going well and the senator is “on track to get the necessary number of signatures even with the delay.”
The beginning of the petitioning process was delayed a few weeks until the U.S. Justice Department approved the state’s redistricting plan.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
