S. 5305--A 2
(a) The names of persons who have received the designation of the
state committee and the offices for which designated[, and the name of
each person who received twenty-five percent or more, of the vote on any
ballot and the offices for which they received such vote].
(b) The names of the persons selected as the committee to fill vacan-
cies or a certified copy of the party rule forming and empowering such a
committee to fill vacancies.
S 3. Subdivision 1 of section 6-108 of the election law, as amended by
chapter 160 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
1. [In any town in a county having a population of over seven hundred
fifty thousand inhabitants, as shown by the latest federal decennial or
special population census, party nominations of candidates for town
offices shall be made at the primary preceding the election.] In [any
other] EVERY town, nominations of candidates for town offices shall be
made by caucus [or primary election as the rules of the county committee
shall provide, except that the members of the county committee from a
town may adopt by a two-thirds vote, a rule providing that the party
candidates for town offices shall be nominated at the primary election.
If a rule adopted by the county committee of a political party or by the
members of the county committee from a town, provides that party candi-
dates for town offices, shall be nominated at a primary election, such
rule shall not apply to nor affect a primary held less than four months
after a certified copy of the rule shall have been filed with the board
of elections. After the filing of such a rule, the rule shall continue
in force until a certified copy of a rule revoking the same shall have
been filed with such board at least four months before a subsequent
primary]. Such a caucus shall be held no earlier than the first day on
which designating petitions [for the fall primary election] may be
signed.
S 4. Section 6-110 of the election law, as amended by chapter 9 of the
laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
S 6-110. Party nominations; public office. All other party nominations
of candidates for offices to be filled at a general election[, except as
provided for herein,] shall be made [at the primary election] BY THE
FILING OF NOMINATING PETITIONS PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE.
S 5. Section 6-116 of the election law, as amended by chapter 373 of
the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
S 6-116. Party nominations; election to fill a vacancy. A party nomi-
nation of a candidate for election to fill a vacancy in an elective
office required to be filled at the next general election, occurring
after seven days before the last day for circulating designating
petitions or after the holding of the meeting or convention to nominate
or designate candidates for such, shall be made[, after the day of the
primary election,] by a majority vote of a quorum of the state committee
if the vacancy occurs in an office to be filled by all voters of the
state, and otherwise by a majority vote of a quorum of the members of a
county committee or committees last elected in the political subdivision
in which such vacancy is to be filled, or by a majority of such other
committee as the rules of the party may provide. A certificate of nomi-
nation shall be filed as provided for herein.
S 6. Section 6-118 of the election law, as amended by chapter 9 of the
laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
S 6-118. [Designation and nomination] NOMINATION by petition. Except
as otherwise provided by this article, the [designation] NOMINATION of a
candidate for [party nomination at a primary election] ELECTION TO AN
OFFICE TO BE FILLED AT AN ELECTION and the nomination of a candidate for
S. 5305--A 3
election to a party position to be elected at a primary election shall
be by designating petition.
S 7. Subdivision 1 of section 6-120 of the election law is amended to
read as follows:
1. A petition, except as otherwise herein provided, for the purpose of
designating any person as a candidate for party nomination [at a primary
election] shall be valid only if the person so designated is an enrolled
member of the party referred to in said designating petition at the time
of the filing of the petition.
S 8. Sections 6-130, 6-132, 6-134 and 6-136 of the election law are
REPEALED.
S 9. Section 6-138 of the election law, the section heading and subdi-
vision 2 as amended by chapter 9 of the laws of 1978, subdivision 1 as
amended by chapter 709 of the laws of 1996, subdivision 3 as amended by
chapter 305 of the laws of 1992, paragraph a of subdivision 3 as amended
by chapter 306 of the laws of 1992, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter
88 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
S 6-138. [Independent nominations] NOMINATIONS; rules. 1. [Independent
nominations] NOMINATIONS for public office shall be made by a petition
containing the signatures of registered voters of the political unit for
which a nomination is made who are registered to vote. The name of a
person signing such a petition for an election for which voters are
required to be registered shall not be counted if the name of a person
who has signed such a petition appears upon another valid and effective
petition [designating or] nominating the same or a different person for
the same office.
2. [Except as otherwise provided herein, the form of, and the rules
for a nominating petition shall conform to the rules and requirements
for designating petitions contained in this article.
3. a. The name selected for the independent body making the nomination
shall be in English characters and shall not include the name or part of
the name or an abbreviation of the name or part of the name, nor shall
the emblem or name be of such a configuration as to create the possibil-
ity of confusion with the emblem or name of a then existing party, or
the emblem or name of an independent body selected by a previously filed
independent nominating petition for the same office.
b. Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph a of this subdivi-
sion, if the emblem or name selected for an independent body on any
independent nominating petition is the same as that selected by any
previously filed independent nominating petition for the same office,
the board of elections with which such later petition was filed shall,
not later than two days after the filing of such later filed petition,
send notice of such duplicate selection of emblem or name by first-class
mail, to the candidate for such office who was nominated by such later
filed petition, and that the candidate to whom such notice is required
to be sent may file with such board of elections, not later than seven
days after such notice was mailed, a certificate selecting a different
emblem or name.
c.] A. A person who has been nominated or who expects to be nominated
as the candidate of an independent body for the office of President of
the United States at any election for such office may, not later than
three days after the last day to file nominating petitions, file with
the state board of elections, a special certificate which shall be irre-
vocable, stating that such person does not wish to permit candidates for
any other office, except the office of Vice-President of the United
States, to appear on the ballot with the same name and emblem as the
S. 5305--A 4
independent body which has nominated or will nominate such candidate for
the office of President.
[d.] B. Not later than seven days after the last day to file nominat-
ing petitions, the state board of elections shall notify each local
board of elections of the name of each candidate for President of the
United States who has filed such a special certificate, together with
the name and emblem of the independent body selected on the petition
which nominated such candidate.
[e. If any candidate has been nominated for any other office by a
petition which selected the same name or emblem for an independent body
as the name or emblem selected on the petition which nominated a candi-
date for President of the United States who has filed a special certif-
icate pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision, the board of
elections with which the petition nominating such candidate for such
other office was filed shall, not later than ten days after the last day
to file nominating petitions, send to each such candidate, by first
class mail, notice that a special certificate pursuant to paragraph c of
this subdivision has been filed and that the candidate to whom such
notice is sent may file with such board of elections, not later than
seven days after such notice was mailed, a certificate selecting a
different name and emblem.
f. If such a petition shall not show an emblem, or if the petition
shall fail to select a name for such independent body, or if pursuant to
the provisions of paragraph b or paragraph e of this subdivision, a
candidate shall fail to select another emblem or name for such independ-
ent body, the officer or board in whose office the petition is filed
shall select an emblem or name or both to distinguish the candidates
nominated thereby. The name and emblem shown upon such petition or
selected by a candidate authorized to make such selection by paragraph b
or paragraph e of this subdivision, or selected by an officer or board
shall also conform to the requirements of this chapter with respect to
names or emblems permitted to be selected by a party.
g. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall preclude a court of
competent jurisdiction from rejecting an independent nominating petition
if the court determines that fraud was involved in the selection of a
name or emblem.
4.] 3. A signature made earlier than six weeks prior to the last day
to file [independent] petitions shall not be counted. A signature on [an
independent] A petition for a special election made earlier than the
date of the proclamation calling the special election shall not be
counted.
S 10. Section 6-140 of the election law, as amended by chapter 709 of
the laws of 1996, paragraph a of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 235
of the laws of 2000, paragraph b of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter
246 of the laws of 2009, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 447 of the
laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
S 6-140. [Independent nominations] NOMINATIONS; form of petition. 1.
a. Each sheet of [an independent] A nominating petition shall be signed
in ink, shall contain the following information and shall be in substan-
tially the following form:
I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a registered voter of
the political unit for which a nomination for public office is hereby
being made, that my present place of residence is truly stated opposite
my signature hereto, and that I do hereby nominate the following named
person (or persons) as a candidate (or as candidates) for election to
public office (or public offices) to be voted for at the election to be
S. 5305--A 5
held on the ............ day of ................, 20...., [and that I
select the name ............................ (fill in name) as the name
of the independent body making the nomination (or nominations) and
................ (fill in emblem) as the emblem of such body].
Place of residence
(also post office
Name of Public address
Candidate Office if not identical)
.......... ................. ..........................
.......... ................. ..........................
[I do hereby appoint ............................. (here insert the
names and addresses of at least three persons, all of whom shall be
registered voters within such political unit), as a committee to fill
vacancies in accordance with the provisions of the election law.]
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, the day and year
placed opposite my signature.
Date Name of Signer Residence
...... ................ .......................
...... ................ .......................
Town or city (except
in the city of New
York, the county)
.......................
.......................
b. There shall be appended at the bottom of each sheet a signed state-
ment of a witness who is a duly qualified voter of the state. Such a
statement shall be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an
affidavit, and if it contains a material false statement, shall subject
the person signing it to the same penalties as if he or she had been
duly sworn. The form of such statement shall be substantially as
follows:
STATEMENT OF WITNESS
I, ...................... (name of witness) state: I am a duly quali-
fied voter of the State of New York and now reside at
........................................ (residence address).
Each of the individuals whose names are subscribed to this petition
sheet containing ........ (fill in number) signatures, subscribed the
same in my presence on the dates above indicated and identified himself
or herself to be the individual who signed this sheet.
I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as
the equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false
statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly
sworn.
Date: ................ .........................
Signature of Witness
Witness identification information:
The following information must be completed prior to filing with the
board of elections in order for this petition sheet to be valid.
Town or City County
............... .........
S. 5305--A 6
2. In lieu of the signed statement of a witness who is a duly quali-
fied voter of the state qualified to sign the petition, the following
statement signed by a notary public or commissioner of deeds shall be
accepted:
On the dates above indicated before me personally came each of the
voters whose signatures appear on this petition sheet containing
.......... (fill in number) signatures, who signed same in my presence
and who, being by me duly sworn, each for himself or herself, said that
the foregoing statement made and subscribed by him or her, was true.
Date: ......................
................................
(Signature and official title
of officer administering oath)
3. The state board of elections shall prepare a sample form of [an
independent] A nominating petition which meets the requirements of this
section and shall distribute or cause such forms to be distributed to
each board of elections. Such forms shall be made available to the
public upon request, by the state board of elections and each such
board. Any petition that is a copy of such a sample shall be deemed to
meet the requirements of form imposed by this section.
S 11. Section 6-142 of the election law, as amended by chapter 79 of
the laws of 1992, paragraph (d-1) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter
418 of the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
S 6-142. [Independent nominations] NOMINATIONS; number of signatures.
1. [An independent] A nominating petition for candidates to be voted for
by all the voters of the state must be signed by at least fifteen thou-
sand voters, of whom at least one hundred shall reside in each of one-
half of the congressional districts of the State.
2. [An independent] A nominating petition for the nomination of candi-
dates for an office to be filled by the voters of any other political
unit must be signed by voters numbering five per centum of the total
number of votes cast for governor at the last gubernatorial election in
such unit, excluding blank and void votes, except that not more than
three thousand five hundred signatures shall be required upon any such
petition for any office to be filled in any political subdivision of the
state wholly outside the city of New York, and not more than the follow-
ing numbers of signatures shall be required upon any such petition for
the following public offices respectively:
(a) for any office to be filled in any county or portion thereof
outside the city of New York, one thousand five hundred;
(b) for any office to be filled by all the voters of the city of New
York, seven thousand five hundred;
(b-1) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any two coun-
ties in such city, four thousand;
(c) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any county or
borough in such city, four thousand;
(d) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any municipal
court district, three thousand signatures;
(d-1) for any office to be filled in the city of New York by all the
voters of any city council district, two thousand seven hundred;
(e) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any congressional
district, three thousand five hundred;
(f) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any state senato-
rial district, three thousand;
S. 5305--A 7
(g) for any office to be filled by all the voters of an assembly
district, one thousand five hundred;
(h) for the office of trustee of the Long Island Power Authority, five
hundred;
(i) for any office to be filled by the voters of any political subdi-
vision contained within another political subdivision except as herein
otherwise provided, not to exceed the number of signatures required for
the larger subdivision.
S 12. Section 6-152 of the election law is REPEALED.
S 13. Sections 6-160, 6-162, 6-164 and 6-166 of the election law are
REPEALED.
S 14. Subdivisions 2 and 8 of section 7-104 of the election law, as
amended by chapter 165 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as
follows:
2. [The names of parties or independent bodies which contain more than
fifteen letters may, whenever limitations of space so require, be print-
ed on the ballot in an abbreviated form.] In printing the names of
candidates whose full names contain more than fifteen letters, only the
surname must be printed in full. The officer or board charged with the
duty of preparing the ballots shall request each such candidate to indi-
cate, in writing, the shortened form in which, subject to this
restriction, his name shall be printed. If no such indication is
received from such candidate within the time specified in the request,
such officer or board shall make the necessary determination.
8. With respect to candidates for the offices of governor and lieuten-
ant governor [of a party or independent body], ballots shall be printed
so that the names of such candidates for both offices shall appear in
the same row or column, with the name of the candidate for governor
appearing first and the ballot shall be so adjusted that both offices
are voted for jointly [and have but one designating letter or number].
S 15. Subdivisions 4, 5 and 7 of section 7-104 of the election law are
REPEALED.
S 16. Subdivisions 2, 7 and 11 of section 7-106 of the election law,
subdivision 7 as amended and subdivision 11 as renumbered by chapter 165
of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:
2. All paper ballots of the same kind for the same polling place shall
be identical. A different, but in each case uniform style and size of
type, shall be used for printing the names of candidates, the titles of
offices, [political designations,] and the reading form of all questions
submitted. The names of candidates shall be printed in capital letters
in black-faced type.
7. Each such ballot shall be printed in sections in which the candi-
dates' names [and political designations], the ballot proposals and
other requisite matter shall each be boxed in by heavy black perpendic-
ular lines of equal width. In each such section shall be voting ovals or
squares which voters may fill in. If applicable, ovals or squares shall
be provided next to the blank spaces provided for a voter to write in a
name.
11. [The names of parties or independent bodies which contain more
than fifteen letters may, whenever limitations of space so require, be
printed on the ballot in an abbreviated form.] In printing the names of
candidates whose full names contain more than fifteen letters, only the
surname must be printed in full. The officer or board charged with the
duty of preparing the ballots shall request each such candidate to indi-
cate, in writing, the shortened form in which, subject to this
restriction, his name shall be printed. If no such indication is
S. 5305--A 8
received from such candidate within the time specified in the request,
such officer or board shall make the necessary determination. No emblem
shall occupy a space longer in any direction than the voting square to
which it relates.
S 17. Section 7-114 of the election law is REPEALED.
S 18. Section 7-116 of the election law, subdivision 2 as amended by
chapter 234 of the laws of 1976, subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 9
of the laws of 1978, subdivision 3-a as added by chapter 143 of the laws
of 1996, subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 279 of the laws of 1992,
the second undesignated paragraph of subdivision 6 as amended by chapter
121 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
S 7-116. Ballots; order of names on. 1. In printing the names of
candidates on the ballot, the [candidate or candidates of the party
which polled for its candidate for the office of governor at the last
preceding election for such office the highest number of votes, shall be
row or column A or one and the candidates of the other parties shall be
placed on such ballot in descending order of such votes.
2. The] officer or board who or which prepares the ballot shall deter-
mine the order in which shall appear[, below] the names of [party] THE
candidates [the nominations made only by independent bodies. Such offi-
cer or board also shall determine the order in which shall be printed,
in a section of such ballot the names of two or more candidates nomi-
nated by one party or independent body, for an office to which two or
more persons are to be elected; provided, however, that any such candi-
date may, by a writing filed with such board or officer not later than
one week after the adjournment of the convention or one week after the
primary election nominating him, or otherwise not later than two days
after the filing of the petition or certificate nominating him, demand
that such order be determined by lot, and in that case such order shall
be so determined, upon two days notice by mail given by such board or
officer to each candidate for such office. The state board of elections
shall perform the duties required by this subdivision in all cases
affecting nominations filed in its] FOR EACH PUBLIC office.
[3. The officer or board with whom or which are filed the designations
for a public office or party position shall determine by lot, upon two
days notice by mail given by such board or officer to each candidate for
such office or position and to the committee, if any, named in the
designating petition, the order in which shall be printed on the offi-
cial primary ballot, under the title of the office or position, the
names of candidates for public office, the names of candidates for a
party position to which not more than one person is to be elected, and
the groups of names of candidates for party position where two or more
persons are to be elected thereto and any petition designates two or
more persons therefor, provided, however, that whenever groups of names
for more than one party position are designated by the same petition,
the order in which they shall be printed on the official primary ballot
shall be determined by a single lot. Candidates for delegate or deleg-
ates and alternate delegate or delegates to conventions designated by
the same petition shall, for the purpose of this subdivision, be treated
as one group. The names of candidates, if any, for a party position to
which two or more persons are to be elected, who are designated by indi-
vidual petitions and not in a group shall be printed below such group or
groups, in such order between themselves, as such officer or board shall
determine by lot upon the notice specified in this subdivision. The
names within a group of candidates designated for party position by one
petition shall be printed in the same order in which they appear in the
S. 5305--A 9
petition, unless they appear in a different order on different pages of
the petition, in which case their order within the group shall be deter-
mined by such officer or board by lot upon the notice specified in this
subdivision. Candidates for members of a state committee designated by a
single petition shall, for the purposes of this subdivision, be treated
as one group. However, the notice to a committee of the drawing need not
be mailed to more than five members, if there be that many, and as to
offices or party positions for which designating petitions are filed
with the board of elections of the city of New York the notice shall be
given to the committees only.
3-a. The state board of elections shall prescribe the method, or two
or more alternative methods, for making the determinations by lot
required by subdivisions two and three of this section. Each county
board of elections shall adopt one of such methods at least ninety days
before any election to which such method shall apply.
4.] 2. If a vacancy in a designation or nomination be filled after the
making, in the manner provided in this section, of a determination of
the order in which the names of candidates for the office or position
are to be printed, the name of the candidate designated or nominated to
fill such vacancy shall be printed in the place so determined for the
original candidate.
[5. The titles of public offices shall appear on ballots for primary
elections in the same consecutive order that they will appear on the
general election ballot. The titles of the party positions shall appear
in the following order: member of state committee, assembly district
leader, associate assembly district leader, members of county committee
in the city of New York, delegate or delegates to conventions, alternate
delegate or delegates to conventions, and members of county committee in
counties outside of the city of New York. Where, pursuant to the rules
of the county committee, the party position involved is that of assembly
district leader or associate assembly district leader for a part of an
assembly district, such part shall be so indicated in the title on the
ballot.
6. In the city of New York, the ballot on the voting machine for
primary elections shall conform to the following additional provisions:
The names of the candidates designated for such public office or party
position in the primary of a party shall be placed under the title of
the office or position in the alphabetical order of their surnames, in
the first or lowest numbered assembly district and election district of
any political unit or subdivision within a county. If candidates'
surnames are identical, their given or first name shall determine their
order. Thereafter the names shall be rotated by election districts by
transposing the first named candidate to the bottom of the order at each
succeeding election district, so that each name shall appear first and
in each other position in an equal number, as nearly as possible, of the
election districts and except, further, that where two or more candi-
dates are to be elected to the same party position, the names of candi-
dates for such a position which appear on the same designating petition
shall be grouped together on the ballot in the order in which their
names appear on the designating petition and the group rotated alphabet-
ically in relation to other groups or individual candidates according to
the surname of the first person on the designating petition of such
group. Groups of candidates for delegate and alternate delegate, and
groups of candidates for male and female delegate and male and female
alternate delegate to the same convention designated on the same peti-
tion shall be rotated together alphabetically in relation to other
S. 5305--A 10
groups or individual candidates according to the surname of the first
person listed on such designating petition in the group of candidates
for whichever of such delegate or alternate delegate positions will
appear first on the voting machine. If the rules of a party committee
provide for equal representation of the sexes among the members of a
state committee elected from each unit of representation, elections
for male and female members of such a committee from a single unit of
representation shall be conducted as elections for two different party
positions. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, if the
board of elections has assigned numbers to the candidates for an office
or position because of identical or similar names among such candidates,
the names of such candidates shall be placed under the title of such
office or position in the order of such numbers in such first or lowest
numbered district, and the names shall not be rotated by election
district. Such names shall appear in the identical order on each ballot
in each election district.
County committee candidates or groups of candidates shall be printed
within the first election district of each assembly district or part
thereof, according to the priority of filing of designating petitions
and they shall then be rotated by election district by placing the
candidate or group of candidates designated in the same petition as the
candidate or group of candidates which was printed first in an election
district at the bottom of the order in the next succeeding election
district in which a candidate or group of candidates designated in such
petition appears on the ballot.
In cases where a name is added to or removed from the ballot by court
order too late to make a complete adjustment to these requirements
feasible, the name may be added at the bottom of the list of candidates
in all election districts, or removed from the ballot in all election
districts without changing the previously arranged order of other names
and without invalidating the election. Any inadvertent error in the
order of names discovered too late to correct the order of the names on
the ballots concerned shall not invalidate an election.
Except where a contest or candidate is removed from the ballot by
court order too late to make complete compliance with this paragraph
feasible, the title of each public office or party position and the
names of the candidates for such office or position appearing on any
voting machine used for primary elections in the city of New York shall
appear on such machine immediately adjacent to one another, either
horizontally or vertically; and no blank spaces shall separate the names
of candidates actually running for an office or party position on such
voting machine, and no blank spaces shall separate any two such offices
or positions which appear on such voting machine in the same column or
row.]
S 19. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
