New York Trial Court Puts Candidate Back on Primary Ballot Even Though She Had Not Submitted Full Paperwork

On May 8, a New York Supreme Court in Manhattan put Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright back on the Democratic primary ballot.  See this story.  She had not submitted a cover sheet with her petition.  Precedent in New York state is strong that petitions without cover sheets are invalid.  But the judge said the health crisis, which put Assemblymember Seawright into a quarantine during the primary petitioning period, means that paperwork errors of this type cannot keep candidates off ballots.

The Board of Elections will appeal, as will the Republican Party.  Seawright is a Democrat. The case is Matter of Seawright v Board of Elections in the City of New York, 2020 NY slip op 02900.


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