New York State Senator Greg Ball (R-Patterson) has introduced SB 5305. It would convert all elections for state and local office to non-partisan elections. There would be no primaries for state or local office. Instead, anyone who wanted to run would do so in November. Candidates would get on the ballot with petitions. Statewide candidates would need 15,000 signatures. No party labels would appear on the ballot.
while this proposal seems to have an element of a “free-for-all” style of politics, the sad truth is that any election reform in New York must begin with a change in the Board of Elections. Both the state board and the NYC board (which is too autonomous for my taste) and all 62 county boards are required to be 1/2 Dem and 1/2 Rep and are privately hired by the two parties, then placed on the public payroll. Nothing changes in New York elections without changes to this arrangement.
For decades, the Wisconsin State Board of Elections was also a body filled with partisan appointees, but the Wisconsin State Board did a very competent and fair job. I don’t think it follows logically that it is impossible for a partisan election administration body to function well.
What New York state most needs is the statewide initiative process. The initiative is the gateway for all other reforms. It is the only way to bypass state legislators when legislators won’t do the right thing.
Richard,
On occasion some New York elections officials act fairly. But when they are the people who count and certify petition signatures and then count the votes, and they owe their positions to “certain parties”, awful things happen.
For all of the dozens of proposals for electoral reforms here in New York, I haven’t seen a single proposal for the initiative process. Maybe it’s because it’s the most feared, I don’t know.
that is one way to end fusion as we know it.
Add to proposed petition-litigation projects the collection of sufficient “other” reform party aka blanket primary party change of voter registrations to establish ballot access – even a regional ballot access for say NYC or in my personal jurisdictional standing cases the 3rd Judicial District or Ulster County
• Reform Party-NY Committee independent nominating organization 2013, 2014 merged with:
• Blanket Primary Party-NY independent nominating organization 2013, 2014 (“ once state ballot access OTB party primary for every office available in every election”
• NYC Mayor 2013 and than NYS Gov 2014
• Blanket Primary Party Ulster County 2013, Reform Party NYC 2013, Reform Party AKA Blanket Primary Party 2014
• Judicial nominating independent petitioning 2013, 2014 Reform Party AKA Blanket Primary Party
• NY City Mayor 2013, general organizational litigation projects
• NYS Governor 2014, general organizational litigation projects
• 50K Ballot Access,
• electronic independent nominating petitioning and voter registration litigation 2013, 2014, 2015
• electronic designating/OTB petitioning 2015
• NYS BOE commissioner system 2015
• voter re-registration project 2013, 2014 forward
• voter registration form changing political party to other “Reform Party AKA Blanket Primary Party” will include as an addendum check off for “natural born citizen” and “naturalized citizen” and photo identification proof of identity (NYS-DMV license/ ID) 2013, 2014
— OTB process used as most fundemental I&R initiative and referendum