As already noted, on April 1, the New York legislature passed a bill raising the number of signatures for statewide independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, from 15,000 signatures to 45,000 signatures. That bill, part of the state budget, did not make any changes to the 2019 law that said the petitioning period runs from early April to late May.

Afterwards, though, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order saying the start date is not in effect. This had the effect of making it illegal for the independent petition to be circulating now. No one knows when he will issue a new order, setting a new start date and a new petition deadline. Also no one knows if he will order a reduction in the number of signatures.