Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday called for special elections on Sept. 13 to fill Anthony Weiner’s Congressional office and six vacant State Assembly seats. Party leaders will now get to choose the candidates to run. That is not the way a democracy is supposed to work. Unfortunately, it’s the way things are done in New York.
Federal law requires the governor to hold a special election quickly for a vacant House seat. New York State law says that “party nominations for an office to be filled at a special election shall be made in the manner prescribed by the rules of the party.”
That means Representative Joseph Crowley, the Democratic Party chief in Queens, will probably crown the next congressman in Mr. Weiner’s heavily Democratic district. The Republican bosses do it the same way. If an outsider wants to get on the ballot, he or she will have to collect 3,500 signatures by July 13. Who has that kind of ground operation?
This is even worse in state races in New York. Citizens Union reported recently that a third of the Legislature was first anointed as candidates in these back-room, special-election deals. Mr. Cuomo did not have to hand those six open seats to the bosses. State law says that the governor can call a special election to fill open seats in the Legislature or wait until the next election.
There is a regularly scheduled primary on Sept. 13, which is now the same date as the special elections. The general election is Nov. 8. The rules for these elections are not that great either, but the voters have more of a voice than they do in the special elections.
Mr. Cuomo should have allowed the state races to go through the normal process. He can now start making amends to New Yorkers by pushing to change the state’s special election laws, so the voters, not party bigwigs, get to choose who represents them.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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