Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay) announced that legislation he introduced reducing the number of signatures required for candidates to get their names on the 2019 ballot has been signed into law (Ch. 17 of 2019).

“Combining the June and September primaries will help both taxpayers and voters,” Jones said. “But it posed a problem for potential candidates, who faced a significant hurtle in getting the required number of signatures with an earlier than anticipated deadline. This temporary reduction in signatures will ensure that persons interested in serving their community will be able to secure ballot access, so they can put forward their ideas to voters come Election Day.”

Under the new law, the number of signatures required for a candidate’s petition will be reduced by one-quarter, except for those running for office in New York City. The measure only applies to the current year.

The election reform package signed into law earlier this year consolidated the federal and state primary to the fourth Tuesday in June, moving the deadline for signature submissions approximately three months earlier. That means the petition process starts this year on Feb. 26,^[1] leaving little time for potential candidates to announce their candidacy and collect the required signatures, Jones noted.