New York S 2514: Relates to objections to designating and nominating petitions

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
S02514 Summary:

BILL NOS02514 

&nbsp

SAME ASNo Same As

&nbsp

SPONSORMAY

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §§6-154 & 16-102, El L

&nbsp

Provides for requirements for officers, boards and judges making determinations as to the sufficiency of a designating or nominating petition.

Go to top S02514 Actions:

BILL NOS02514 

&nbsp

01/21/2025REFERRED TO ELECTIONS

01/07/2026REFERRED TO ELECTIONS

Go to topS02514 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS02514 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS02514 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 2514

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 January 21, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections

 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to objections to designat-
 ing and nominating petitions

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Section 6-154 of the election law is amended by adding a
 2 new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
 3 2-a. (a) When ruling on objections to designating and nominating
 4 petitions, the officer or board with whom such objection is filed shall
 5 construe all election laws, rules, and regulations liberally so as not
 6 to deprive an individual of their right to run for office, or the voters
 7 of their right to elect a candidate of their choice.
 8 (b) The officer or board making a determination as to the sufficiency
 9 of a petition shall abide by the following when making such determi-
 10 nation:
 11 (i) Objections related to a voter or witness statement address shall
 12 not be valid if the voter or witness and the address are reasonably
 13 ascertainable by the officer or board making a determination.
 14 (ii) Objections shall not be valid simply because a voter or witness
 15 writes in the name of the village, hamlet, or census designated place in
 16 which such voter or witness lives rather than the city or town in which
 17 such voter or witness lives. In the city of New York, an objection shall
 18 not be valid simply because a voter or witness writes in the name of the
 19 borough in which such voter or witness lives rather than the county in
 20 which such voter or witness lives.
 21 (iii) Objections related to pagination errors shall not be a basis for
 22 invalidating a petition.
 23 (iv) A petition shall not be invalidated because the signature count
 24 appearing on the cover sheet is misstated. Only the number of signatures
 25 actually appearing on the petition shall be counted.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD06625-01-5

 S. 2514 2

 1 (v) A petition shall not be invalidated because the stated number of
 2 signatures that appear in the witness statement is inaccurate. Only the
 3 number of signatures actually appearing on the petition shall be count-
 4 ed.
 5 (vi) An objection to a petition premised on the public office for
 6 which a candidate was designated for nomination being inaccurately stat-
 7 ed shall be valid only if a reasonable voter would be confused by the
 8 description of such misstated office.
 9 (vii) When the date appearing on the witness statement is earlier than
 10 the stated date of some voter signatures, only the voter signatures that
 11 bear a date that is later than the date borne by the witness statement
 12 shall be invalid.
 13 (viii) A petition may be rejected by the board of elections if such
 14 petition does not meet the minimum number of signatures required pursu-
 15 ant to section 6-136 of this article.
 16 § 2. Section 16-102 of the election law is amended by adding a new
 17 subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
 18 2-a. (a) When ruling on objections to designating and nominating
 19 petitions, the court shall construe all election laws, rules, and regu-
 20 lations liberally so as not to deprive an individual of their right to
 21 run for office, or the voters of their right to elect a candidate of
 22 their choice.
 23 (b) The court shall abide by the following when making such determi-
 24 nation:
 25 (i) Objections related to a voter or witness stateme