On February 21, New York Assembly bill 204, the “ballot-friendly act”, was placed on third reading in the Assembly. It had passed the Assembly Election Law Committee on February 12. It requires that the names of candidates be in type that is no smaller than Font size 12 (one-sixth of one inch). It also says the names of all candidates for the same office shall appear in the same column or row, unless no alternative is possible.
In the special election for U.S. House, 9th district, held September 13, 2011, there were only three candidates on the ballot: the Democratic-Working Families-Independence nominee David Weprin, the Republican-Conservative nominee Bob Turner, and the Socialist Workers nominee, Christopher Hoeppner. The ballot listed Weprin, Turner, and the write-in line on the upper line. But it put Hoeppner on a lower line, all by himself. As a result most voters probably didn’t even notice Hoeppner’s name, and he polled only 143 votes (.2%). A204, if it had been in effect, would have not allowed this ballot format.
Where is that Model Election Law ???
How many States now have the OFFICE BOX ballots ???
That’s a hard question to answer, because in some states, some counties have one ballot format whereas other counties in the same state have a different ballot format.