On March 13, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “Normally you go door to door with a petition and you speak to the person who opens the door and you ask them to sign a petition. This is not the best time to be sending people door to door. It’s the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do. I don’t know the specific solution but I know it’s something that we have to address.” See this story.
The primary petitioning window opened February 25 and ends April 2.
Petitioning is underway for Massachusetts candidates to get on primary ballots for the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green Parties. The primary is in September and the signatures are due in June. The worst petition requirement this year is for candidates for U.S. Senate, who need 10,000 signatures of party members or independent voters.
This article expresses concern by some candidates for U.S. House, who each need 2,000 signatures. It doesn’t say anyone is trying to ameliorate the problem, however.
On March 13, the Wyoming Democratic Party altered its upcoming presidential caucus, to entirely eliminate the in-person meetings, and rely entirely on the party-adminstered primary. See this story at Frontloading.
According to this story, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has acknowledged the difficulty of petitioning due to the current virus situation. New York has its congressional and state office primaries in June, and candidates for district office in that primary must petition to get on the ballot. Only party members may sign these primary petitions, so it is customary in New York city and other urban areas in the state for petitioners to go door-to-door. The petitioning window has opened.
Also, the same story says State Senator James Skoufis has introduced a bill to move the presidential primary from late April to June. Petitioning for the presidential primary is not a problem, because it is over with, but the bill addresses concerns about holding an April election while the virus is a problem.
Thirty-four Democratic and Republican candidates have signed a petition to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, asking that primary petitions be lowered or perhaps eliminated this year, due to health concerns. See this story.
