On October 12, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, upheld a decision of the lower court, putting the Libertarian Party candidate for Kings County Borough President on the November 2005 ballot. New York is one of the eleven states that has no procedure for a new party to petition to get itself on the ballot. Instead, New York only has candidate petitions.

New York law already permits a single petition to carry a statewide slate (or a New York city-citywide slate) as well as a candidate in just part of the state (or in just part of New York city). Obviously, putting multiple candidates on a single petition makes petitioning easier. The person in the street only has to sign one petition, not several.

The issue in this case (In the Matter of Gary S. Popkin) is whether a single petition can carry a citywide slate and two different district candidates, in two different districts. In this particular case, the question was whether the Libertarians could circulate a single petition that named the 3 citywide nominees, as well as a nominee for Brooklyn President, and a nominee for Queens President. The party, of course, recognized that this single petition had to get enough signatures for each of the nominees from among voters in the proper places. But the Board of Elections had said the petition was intrinsically invalid as to form. However, the courts disagreed. The precedent will make it possible for minor parties in the future to print fewer separate petition forms.