Senate Bill S6281

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6281

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to judicial proceedings

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

This amendment closes a loophole in Election Law litigation in
circumstances in which the Board of Elections has validated a
candidate's petition but certain legal issues and signatures still
remain in issue in litigation brought by the objectors to the
candidacy following such validation. The amendment makes clear that
all issues may be resolved in one proceeding brought by the objectors
to the candidacy and that a candidate not need institute a separate
proceeding concerning the validity of his or her petition when the
Board of Elections has ruled in favor of the candidate. There is
uncertainty in the law, which varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction
in the various parts of the State.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 - Current law does not address the candidate's rights when
the Board has validated the petition but an objector has instituted
litigation challenging the validity of that petition. The legislation
amends NYS Election Law 16-120 by adding a new section that allows for
              

a candidate whose petition was declared valid by the Board of
Elections to continue to litigate all issues which the Board did not
decide in the candidate's favor, such as the validity of particular
signatures, in any judicial proceeding brought by an objector to the
candidate's petition.

Section 2 - Effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The purpose of this title is to make the litigation process for
objections to nominating petitions easier and the same as any other
court proceeding. Presently, the law of the State is muddled. The
Legislature amended 16-120 to allow a candidate to bring a proceeding
to validate a petition declared invalid by the Board of Elections
within 3 days of the Board's decision. A petition to validate a
petition may also be brought within 14 days of the last day to file
petitions. Unfortunately, under the rulings of some courts, this
creates a loophole when the Board validates the petition but
invalidates some signatures, and to overcome the Board's ruling as to
those signatures, a separate judicial proceeding must be filed to
validate those individual signatures. The timing of such a separate
petition is unclear as the Board often rules after the 14 day period
is past, and the 3-day extender period only applies when the Board
invalidates the petition.

This is an unnecessary and uncertain loophole by which legitimate
candidates can lose their nominations. The nominating petitions, once
filed, are already presumed valid and it is up to the party claiming
they are invalid to prove otherwise. A candidate should not have to
bring a separate and unnecessary proceeding claiming validity when the
Board of Elections has already declared that the petitions are valid.

Unless this loophole is eliminated, under the interpretation of some
courts, every time a petition is challenged, the candidate, to
preserve all his or her legal rights, would have to bring a petition
to validate, thereby creating an undue and expensive burden on
candidates and a loophole that is manipulated to remove legitimate
candidates from the ballot.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

A8666A - 2016

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to state. The legislation will reduce the litigation expenses of
candidates running for public office.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before
such date.