The next phase of the NY23rd Congressional Campaign will begin on March 6 (Tuesday). That is the first day the candidates and their campaign teams can ask registered NY23rd Democrats to sign their nominating petitions. Each campaign will decide when they will stop getting signatures; they need to count (and recount) the signatures, number the pages, have the petitions bound and hand delivered to Albany between April 9 and 12.

Even though each candidate needs to have 1,250 signatures to qualify to on the June 26 Primary ballot, they will get more. It is my understanding that will try for double that amount, and some campaigns have a goal of 3,000 signatures! After the petitions reach the State Board of Elections, they can, and probably will be challenged. After the challenge process, the BOE will certify which candidates survive the challenges. In 2016, Rep. Reed’s campaign challenged the petitions of his potential primary opponent Gary Perry. Perry turned in about 800 accepted signatures, far less than the requirement. The challenge was upheld, and there were no GOP Primary.

Hints to those who sign petitions:

• You can only sign one petition. Ask the person who is requesting your signature about the candidate.  Ask about their background and how they feel about one or two issues that are important to you.
• Make sure you write your Street Address as your residence –nobody lives in a Post Office Mail Box
• Make sure you write the correct date
• Your signature must be witnessed

If you strongly support a particular candidate, consider volunteering passing  one of their petitions.  You do not need to fill out a full petition (10 or 15 names); Candidates would be happy if you could get five of your friends, family members or neighbors to sign it. Every little bit helps.

This process is not only for getting the required signatures. It is an opportunity for the campaigns to make contacts with as many NY23rd democrats as possible and get their names known throughout the district.  If each of the six candidates get 3000 signatures, they will have contacted 18,000 democrats. FYI, the NY23rd 2012 Democratic Primary drew just over 11,000 voters.

After the petitions are turned in to Albany, the next phase begins–Campaigning to win the Primary Election!  There is just over 10 weeks from the time the petitions are turned in and the Primary. This is when their campaigns will be in running on all cylinders.

This is what democracy looks like!