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Rules for filing PETITIONS 2017
NOTE: All petitions will be taken at face value SECTION #1 a) Party you are running under and Date of Election must be entered at top of petition. b) Name of Candidate (YOUR NAME); use your name EXACTLY as it appears on your voter registration card. The petition shall not name more candidates than allowed for a particular office. c) Town, Office Title and Term of Office in which the candidate is running (i.e.: 1yr unexpired or a 2 or 4yr full term). Terms are only required if the office is unexpired or if there are two different terms. d) Enter residence address and PO Box if applicable. NOTE: Sections a, b, c & d above must be completed correctly or your petition will be invalidated by the Commissioners. SECTION #2 – Vacancy Committee a) The failure to list a committee to fill vacancies shall not be a fatal defect. However, if a vacancy occurs and there is no committee listed, the petition fails and the vacancy cannot be filled. b) A candidate may be a member of his/her own vacancy committee. c) Members of vacancy committees for designating petitions do not have to be residents of the district. d) At least three (3) members are needed to form a vacancy committee. e) Members must be registered to vote. f) NOTE: Opportunity to Ballot petitions must have a Committee to Receive Notices. Failure is a fatal defect. SECTION #3 – Signatures a) The signer must be of the party that the petition is for. A voter can only sign the number of petitions that there are offices on the ballot. (i.e.: If (2) Town Councilmen positions available a voter can only sign up to (2) petitions for that office.) b) An alteration or correction of information appearing on a signature line, other than
Rockland County Democratic Committee Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky, Chairwoman Theodore V. Collins, Executive Director
106 Strawtown Road, West Nyack, New York 10994 T.: 845.535.1498 E.: [email protected],
[email protected] Find us on Facebook: Rockland County Democratic Committee
Twitter and Instagram: @rocklanddems www.rocklanddemocraticcommittee.com
the signature itself and the date, shall not invalidate the signature. Section §6-134.6 c) If making corrections in the “Residence” or “Town or City” section of a petition, draw only one line through it to correct it. All corrections made on a petition must be initialed. No unexplained alteration should be made to the petition or any information on it. d) Do not use Whiteout on petitions. If a mistake is made on the “Date” or “Signature” section, draw a line through the entire row, then start again on the next row down. e) “Town or City” DO NOT put the hamlet. Rockland has five towns: Clarkstown, Haverstraw, Orangetown, Ramapo, and Stony Point. Make sure the Town is listed. If you are running in a Village, you may put the Village AND the Town. SECTION #4 – Statement of Witness a) The Person carrying the petition door to door gathering the signatures is the Witness; therefore, said person must fill out the Statement of Witness section. b) The Witness must be registered in the party that the petition is being carried for. However, a Notary Public can also carry a petition regardless of party affiliation. The Notary Public must complete the Notary section. The notary must administer an oath to each signer. The notary should ask for Identification to ensure the signer is the right person. c) On designating petitions ONLY, the witness does not have to live in the same district to carry the petition. They just need to be an enrolled voter of the party that the petition is for and live in New York State. d) The witness statement must be filed out before entering the Board of Elections for filing. e) A witness (petition carrier) may not also be a petition signer for the same office. This is true regardless of whether it is for different candidates or the same candidate also running on an independent line. If you were the signer of a designating petition, then you cannot carry an independent petition. You may never witness your own signature. f) Individual carriers note: DO NOT NUMBER your Petitions! You Chairs and/or Petition Cleaning crew will gather them and number them. FILING (For Candidates ONLY – Individual Petition Carriers please disregard) Election Law 6215.1 1. If you have (2) or more sheets for your petition, the sheets must be numbered sequentially. (Failure to number petitions will invalidate the petition). 2. Petition sheets must be fastened together (i.e. stapled) or by any means, which it will hold the pages together in numerical order (NO PAPER CLIPS)
COVER SHEETS Election Law 6215.2 If you have 10 or more petition sheets, you must have a completed cover sheet securely attached to the front of each volume. The BOE has blank cover sheets available. CORRECTIONS TO PETITIONS Election Law §6215.7 1. Within two (2) business days, of the receipt of the petition, the board shall review the petition to determine whether the petition complies with the requirements set by the Board of Elections. The Commissioners will notify the candidate by overnight mail or fax of the errors that need to be addressed. 2. The candidate will have three (3) business days from the date of the determination to cure the violation. 3. Cover sheet deficiencies may be corrected by the filing of an amended cover sheet. The Board of Elections must receive such cure or correction no later than the third (3rd) business day following such determination. GENERAL RULES AS TO SIGNERS AND SIGNATURES: 1. Petitions may NOT be signed before June 6, 2017. They may be signed on Sundays and Holidays. 2. Only members enrolled in the political party of the petition you are carrying may sign your petition. 3. Signers should sign their name as it appears on the voter rolls. Signers should not sign using initials. Do not sign “Mrs.”, “Mr.” or “Dr.”. 4. A wife must sign her own given name. She should sign Ann B. Smith, not Mrs. John R. Smith. 5. A signer need only date and sign his/her signature on the petition. The other required information may be filled in by you or by the signer. 6. Petitions should be completed in INK. 7. Residence address is required; not a post office box. If signer wishes, both may be listed. 8. Town/City means Township (Clarkstown, Haverstraw, Orangetown, Ramapo, or Stony Point) NOT Hamlet. AS TO SUBSCRIBING WITNESS: 1. Witness must be enrolled in party for petition you are carrying or a Notary Public. 2. Witness must personally witness every signature. Do NOT permit a signer to sign for someone else. 3. The date on each line MUST be the date on which you secured the signature.
4. Witness must NOT sign a petition obtained by someone else. Do NOT sign as a witness unless you personally secured all the signatures on the petition. 5. A signer need only date and sign his/her signature on the petition. The Witness may complete the other required information. 6. Fill in the information on the Witness Statement, including the Witness Identification Statement. Do not fill in the number of signatures. Sometimes people sign incorrectly and cannot be counted. The correct number will be inserted prior to filing. 7. Do NOT number your petitions. Your Chairs and/or Petition Cleaning Crew will number. 8. You may NOT witness your own signature. 9. Initial any strikeouts/additions. 10. Sign and date the witness statement AFTER you are sure you will not be gathering more signatures on that page. Return petitions to: *Clarkstown Chairwoman, Richard Diaz, 845.598.2569 [email protected] *Haverstraw Chairman, O. Fred Miller, 914.523.1822 [email protected] *Orangetown Chairwoman, Toni Fallon (by Associate Chairwoman Annmarie Uhl), 914.450.2216 [email protected] *Ramapo Chairwoman, Mona Montal 845.558.7553 [email protected] *Stony Point Chairman, Robert Burns, 845.521.4552 [email protected] *Village of Nyack Chairman, Jeremy Apotheker, 845.641.5362 [email protected]
Petition Review
NOTE: The information contained here is intended to provide guidance for those who are preparing to circulate petitions, and is not to be used as a substitute for consulting the Election Law for specific petition requirements.
Date Candidate/Office/District
General Petition Information Petition must be timely filed. Designating Petitions: July 10-13, 2017
Opportunity to Ballot: July 20, 2017 Independent Nominating: August 15-22, 2017
Petition must be filed at the correct BOE. See Appendix A. Petition contains the date of the election. Primary Election: Thursday, Sept. 12, 2017 Petition contains name of the candidate(s) and office(s) and districts sought.
The petition does not name more Candidates than allowed for a particular office.
Petition contains candidate(s) residence and if, different, mailing or post office address.
Information about signers is included: date, voter’s residence address, town or city.
Witness Statement or Notary is complete. Petition contains Committee to Receive Notices. An Opportunity to Ballot petition must have a Committee to Receive Notices.
Opportunity to Ballot only.
Petition is completed in ink. Petition does not need to list a committee on vacancies; however, the failure to list a committee on vacancies shall invalidate the petition if a vacancy occurs which must be filled by such committee.
Petition contains in excess of the minimum number of signatures required.
See Appendix B.
Item Complies Yes/No Sign Off
Chair/Candidate Petition signatures are dated correctly. 1. Designating: June 6, 2017-July 13, 2017 2. Opportunity to Ballot: June 27, 2017- July 20, 2017 3. Independent Nominating: July 11, 2017- Aug. 22, 2017
Signers are enrolled member of the political party set forth on the petition. (except Indep. Nom)
Item Complies Yes/No Sign Off Chair/Candidate
Dates are clean and easy to read. Cross-outs are initialed.
Signatures are legible. Signatures do not contain initials or abbreviations. Signers used his/her given name. i.e. Ann B. Smith, not Mrs. John Smith.
Address is complete. City or Town (NOT Hamlet) is set forth. The column of TOWN refers to the Township in which the signer resides. Rockland County is composed of 5 towns: Clarkstown, Haverstraw, Orangetown, Ramapo or Stony Point.
Witness is enrolled member of the party listed on the petition or a Notary Public.
Witness Statement or Notary Statement is complete: number of signatures, date, signature, printed name, address.
Pages are numbered consecutively. Cover sheet is completed and pages are bound together (for each petition consisting of 10 or more pages).
Appendix A: Where to File Office # Seats Term SBOE Rockland BOE Supreme Court Justice 1 14 yrs. N/A see Judicial Delegates Surrogate Court Judge 1 10 yrs. X County Executive 1 4 yrs. X County Clerk 1 4 yrs. X Clarkstown Supervisor 1 2 yrs. X Clarkstown Town Council Wards 1-4 4/1 per ward 2 yrs. X Clarkstown Town Clerk 1 2 yrs. X Clarkstown Justice 2 4 yrs. X Clarkstown Supt. Of Highways 1 2 yrs. X Haverstraw Supervisor 1 2 yrs. X Haverstraw Town Council 2 4 yrs. X Haverstraw Town Clerk 1 2 yrs. X Haverstraw Town Justice 1 4 yrs. X Haverstraw Supt. Of Highways 1 2 yrs. X Haverstraw Receiver of Taxes 1 4 yrs. X Orangetown Supervisor 1 2 yrs. X Orangetown Town Council 2 4 yrs. X Orangetown Town Clerk 1 2 yrs. X Orangetown Town Justice 1 4 yrs. X Orangetown Supt. Of Highways 1 2 yrs. X Ramapo Supervisor 1 2 yrs. X Ramapo Town Council 2 4 yrs. X Ramapo Town Justice 1 4 yrs. X Ramapo Supt. Of Highways 1 2 yrs. X Stony Point Supervisor 1 2 yrs. X Stony Point Town Council 2 4 yrs. X Stony Point Town Justice 1 4 yrs. X Stony Point Receiver of Taxes 1 4 yrs. X Village of Nyack Mayor 1 2 yrs. X Village of Nyack Trustee 2 2 yrs. X Village of Piermont Mayor 1 2 yrs. X Village of Piermont Trustee 2 2 yrs. X Village of Piermont Justice 1 4 yrs. X Village of Spring Valley Mayor 1 4 yrs. X Village of Spring Valley Trustee 2 4 yrs. X Village of Spring Valley Justice 2 4 yrs. X Village of Suffern Mayor 1 2 yrs. X Village of Suffern Trustee 2 2 yrs. X Village of West Haverstraw Trustee 2 4 yrs. X Judicial Delegates/Alternates (96th AD) 7/7 1 yr. X Judicial Delegates/Alternates (97th AD) 7/7 1 yr. X Judicial Delegates/Alternates (98th AD) 5/5 1 yr. X Judicial Delegates/Alternates (99th AD) 6/6 1 yr. X
Appendix B: Signature Requirements
Appendix C: Filing Dates
Appendix D: Independent Nominating Petitions
Appendix E: Acceptance and Authorization
