New York state will suspend the petitioning process to get on the ballot for the state’s primary elections in June, and lower the number of signatures required to qualify as a candidate for that election, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.
The petitioning process will be put on hold, starting 5 p.m. Tuesday, for the June primaries, which decide candidates for Congress, State Senate, State Assembly, and certain judgeships.
Cuomo made the change through an executive order, which he signed Saturday.
"This executive order modifies the election process in a way that both protects public health and ensures the democratic process remains healthy and strong regardless of the ongoing pandemic,” Cuomo said.
Candidates seeking to qualify for the ballot will only have to collect about a third of the signatures usually required as a result, Cuomo said. The order will cap the number of signatures required at 30% of the usual threshold.
Candidates for Congress, for example, will only have to collect 375 signatures to qualify for the ballot, rather than 1,250. Candidates for State Senate will only need to collect 300 signatures, and candidates for State Assembly will only need to collect 150 signatures.
The order will also make it easier for absentee voters to participate in the special election for Queens Borough President, Cuomo’s office said. The deadline to register to vote absentee will be extended to March 23 — one day before the election.
"Public health experts have been clear that one of the most common ways to communicate COVID-19 is through direct person to person contact, and we are doing everything in our immediate power to reduce unnecessary interactions,” Cuomo said.
This year’s primary elections in New York are set to be held on June 23.
