New York’s law on the order of political parties on the ballot is somewhat more famous than similar laws in other states. Many political junkies know that parties in New York appear on the ballots in party columns, or party rows, in order of how many votes they received in the last gubernatorial election.
Preliminary election returns seem to suggest that the Independence Party has moved from the third line, to the fifth line. See this story. This is because its gubernatorial vote total was apparently lower than it has ever been. The Conservative Party seems to have moved from the fourth line to the third line, and the Working Families Party from the fifth line to the fourth line.
All three of these parties nominated a major party nominee for Governor this year. The Conservative Party cross-endorsed the Republican nominee, Carl Paladino. The Working Families and Independence Parties cross-endorsed the Democratic nominee.
No New York media ever seems to explore the idea that the entire system of determining the order of party columns in New York might be unconstitutional. Courts in California, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, in the past have struck down laws on the order of party columns on the ballot, or the order of candidates on the ballot, although not all of these decisions struck down laws that are identical to New York’s law. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.
