The Independent View: NY Minor Parties and Independent Candidates Lose Major Voting Court Case

Thanks to Richard Winger of Ballot Access News for this post.

On December 22, U.S. District Court JUdge, John G. Koeltl, a Clinton appointee, upheld the New York Statewide Petition requirement for Independent Candidates, and the Nominees of Unqualified Parties. He also upheld the New definition of a Political Party, a group that polls 2% of the Vote every Two years for the Office at the Top of the Ballot, President, and Governor.

The challenged Laws were passed in 2020 and increasethe Statewide Petition from 15,000 to 45,000 signatures. The old definition of a Qualified Party was a group that polled 50,000 Votes evey Four years for Governor.

Judge Koeltl issued the Opinion less than 24 hours after Oral arguments, but his Opinion has Factual Errors. Page 23 says New York requires the 7th Highest number of Signatures for Statewide Office. Actually, for President, New York requires either the Third Highest or Fourth Highest, depending on how how one classifies Florida. The only Two States that clearly require more Signatures for President are California and Texas. Florida requires No Signatures if the Party is Recognized by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

For other Statewide Office, New York requires More Signaturee that any State other than: Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. The Judge made these Errors because he relied on Erroneous Evidence. For example, one piece of Evidence says California requires 220,474 Signatures in 20202, but No one in California in 2022 needs more more than 65 Signatures. Another piece of Evidence says Pennsylvania requires 57,913, but actually it only requires 5,000, as the results of a 2912 Court Opinion. Another piece of Evidence says North Carolina require 82,542 Signature for an Independent, but neglects to say that the North Carolina Petition for a New Party is only 13,757 Signatures.

Also on Page 23, says New York, is in the Middle of the Pack, regarding its 2% Vote Test for Party Status, but it Fails to mention that the typical State allows the Vote Test to be met by any Statewide Office. New York is one of a few States that Requires the Vote Test be met for President. It is far more difficult for a Minor Party to Poll 2% for President, than for a lesser State Office like Treasurer. Only Four Minor Parties have Polled as much as 2% for President in the Last 70 years.

Page 21 mentions precedents from Courts in other States that uphold Vote Tests in excess of 2%, but the Opinion does Not say that All those States: Arkansas, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, have a Procedure by which a Party that goes Off the Ballot, can come back on again before the Next Election, with a Petition. New York has No such Procedure. In addition, Oklahoma and North Carolina have drastically eased their Laws on how Parties remain on the Ballot since those Opinions came out.

Page Four and 23 say New York is Justifies in increasing its Requirements, because the Vote Test was set in 1935, and New York now has Four Times the Population it had back then. The Opinion says the Number of Votes Cast for President in New York was 5,596,399, whereas the New York Presidential Vote in 2020 was 8,594,826, an Increase of 53.6%. The New Vote Test is now 171,897 Votes, so the 2024 Vote Test Increase is 344%.

The Decision was rendered in Three separate Cases, which had been Combined. One is filed by the SAM Party, One by the Libertarian Party, and One by the Green Party. All of these Parties will Appeal to the Second Circuit. If the New Law had been in effect in 2020, it is extremely likely that New York would have been the Only State with only with only Two Presidential Candidates on the Ballot. No Petition in 2020 for a Minor Party, Minor Party Candidate, or Independent Candidate, in Excess of 5,000 Signatures, Succeded Anywhere in the Nation in 2020.

UPDATE

New York Assemblymember JohnJ. Salka (R-121st District, Brookfield), has in troduced a Bill to Restore the Pre-2020 Statewide Petition Requirement and the Old Definition of a Qualified Ballot Party.