Room 8 and The Albany Project 5/30/2007

Front page blog post at Room 8 and The Albany Project:

Sept 18 is the New Primary Day - Dates to Know
by: SteveWFP

(Good stuff here. - promoted by lipris)

Now that the Governor has signed legislation moving New York's Primary Election to September 18, here are some new key dates:

• June 12: First day to sign petitions
• July 16 - 19: Days when petitions can be filed
• July 23: Last day to file "Wilson Pakulas"
• September 18: Primary Election
• September 20 - 28: Judicial District Conventions

The Board of Elections has an election calendar (pdf) with more of the dates candidates will need to know.

Here's a quick explanation:

Candidates need to petition their way on to the ballot. Those petitions need to be collected within a specified time period that starts June 12th and ends July 19th. If a candidate wants to be cross endorsed by a party that they're not a member of, the appropriate committee of that party needs to issue a "Wilson Pakula" to that candidate (this is what allows fusion candidates). Then the primary election happens on September 18.

Supreme Court Judges, interestingly enough, aren't nominated directly. Instead, delegates are elected on primary day, and those delegates nominate the party's candidate for Supreme Court Judge at the party's Judicial District Convention, which now takes place between September 20 and September 28. This process for nominating Supreme Court Judges has been challenged in court, so there may be more changes next year.

Working Families Party Chapters are interviewing candidates now. More information on the WFP nomination process here.