2023 New York Laws › ELN - Election › Article 15 - Village Elections › 15-108 - Designation and Nomination of Candidates.

§  15-108. Designation and nomination of candidates. 1. Nominations of
candidates for elective village offices shall be  made  as  provided  in
this section.
2.  a.  Party  nominations  of  candidates  for village offices in any
county shall be made at a party caucus or, if the rules  of  the  county
committee,   heretofore   or   hereafter  adopted  consistent  with  the
provisions of this chapter so provide, at a  primary  election.  If  the
rules  of the county committee of any political party provide that party
nominations for village offices of that party in any or all villages  in
the  county  shall  be  made at a village primary election, such primary
election shall be held forty-nine days prior to the date of the  village
election.  In  the  event there is no village committee with a chairman,
the chairman of the county committee or such other person or body as the
rules of such committee may provide, shall designate an enrolled  member
of  the  party  who  is  a qualified voter of the village as the village
election chairman.  Such  village  chairman  shall  have  general  party
responsibility  for  the  conduct  of  the  village  caucus  or  primary
election. For the purposes of this section, a village shall be deemed to
be located  within  a  county  for  the  purposes  of  county  political
organization if more than fifty percent of the population of the village
as  shown  by  the  last federal decennial, or special census resides in
that portion of the village located  in  that  county.  Such  nomination
shall  be  made  not  more than fifty-six, nor less than forty-nine days
prior to the date of the village election.
b. A notice of any village primary held for making  party  nominations
of  candidates  for  village  offices to be filled at a village election
shall be given by the proper party authorities by publication  at  least
once  in  each  of  the  two weeks preceding the primary in at least one
newspaper of general circulation within the village.
c. A notice of any party caucus held for making party nominations  for
village offices for village elections shall be given by the proper party
authorities by posting such notice in the public areas at the offices of
the village clerk and by filing such notice with such clerk at least ten
days   preceding  the  day  of  the  caucus  and,  either  by  newspaper
publication thereof once within the village at least one  week  and  not
more  than  two weeks preceding the caucus, or by posting such notice in
six public places in the village at least ten days preceding the day  of
the caucus.
d.  The  notice  shall  specify  the time and place or places, and the
purpose of such caucus or  primary,  including  the  offices  for  which
candidates will be nominated thereat. For such village primary or caucus
there shall be one or more polling places in each subdivision from which
a  candidate is nominated. There shall be a chairman and a secretary and
tellers for each such village primary or caucus, who shall be  appointed
by  the appropriate party officials. No person shall participate in such
primary or caucus who is not a resident of the village and  an  enrolled
voter  of  the party conducting the primary or caucus. At any primary or
caucus in which nominees are chosen by vote of the people in attendance,
the person eligible and receiving the highest number  of  votes  for  an
office  shall  be deemed nominated. Such village primary or caucus shall
not be conducted at any expense to the village.
e. Any party nomination made at any such  caucus  or  village  primary
shall be evidenced by the filing with the village clerk of a certificate
of  nomination  in  the  form prescribed by this chapter, as provided in
subdivision seven of this section. There shall be filed,  together  with
such  certificate, or within five days after the village clerk sends the
notice of failure to file  prescribed  by  this  paragraph,  a  list  of
enrolled  members  of  the party who have participated in such caucus or

primary. If such list is not filed with such  certificate,  the  village
clerk  shall  forthwith  send notice of the failure to file such list to
the persons who signed such certificate, by first class  mail,  together
with  a  notice that such list must be filed within five days after such
notice was mailed. Such list shall be certified by the presiding officer
or secretary of such caucus or primary.
3. a. Party designations for elective village offices shall be made on
a designating petition containing the signatures in ink of residents  of
the village who are registered to vote with the appropriate county board
of  elections  at  the  time  of  signing  and  who are enrolled in such
political party. The sheets of such a petition shall be  numbered.  Such
petition  must  set  forth in each instance the correct date of signing,
the name of the signer, and his or her  present  address,  and  may  set
forth  a  committee  to  fill  vacancies  consisting  of  at least three
qualified voters of  the  village  enrolled  in  such  party  and  their
residence  within the village. A signer need not himself or herself fill
in the date or residence.  Each  sheet  of  such  petition  must  be  in
substantially  the  following form and shall contain all the information
required therein:
PARTY DESIGNATING PETITION
I, the undersigned do hereby state that I am a registered voter of the
Village of ...... and a duly enrolled voter  of  the ........ party  and
entitled  to  vote  at  the next primary election of such party, that my
place of residence is truly stated opposite my signature hereto,  and  I
hereby  designate the following named person (or persons) as a candidate
(or candidates) for nomination of such party for the public  office  (or
public  offices)  to  be voted for at the primary election to be held on
the ...... day of ........... 20.... as hereinafter specified.
Public Office                        include district
number, if
Name of Candidate     applicable)        Term       Residence
....................  .................   .......   ...............
....................  .................   .......   ...............
I do hereby appoint (insert names and  addresses  of  at  least  three
persons,  all  of  whom  shall  be  enrolled  voters of said party) as a
committee to fill vacancies in accordance with  the  provisions  of  the
election law.
IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,  I  have  hereunto set my hand, the day and year
placed opposite my signature.
Date             Name            Residence
.............    .............   ...............
.............    .............   ...............
STATEMENT OF WITNESS
I ............... (name of witness) state: I am a duly qualified voter
of the State of New York; and an enrolled voter of  the ......... party.
I  now  reside at ..............(residence address). Each of the persons
whose    names    are    subscribed    to    this     petition     sheet

containing ......... signatures,  subscribed  his  or  her  name  in  my
presence.
I  understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as
the equivalent of an affidavit and, if  it  contains  a  material  false
statement,  shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly
sworn.
b.   Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law,  the  number  of
signatures  required  on a designating petition shall be five percent of
the number of enrolled voters of the party residing in the village.  For
the purpose of determining the number of  enrolled  voters  of  a  party
residing  in  the village, the clerk shall be furnished with an official
certified list of all such enrolled party voters residing in the village
by the county board of elections of the county in which all or  part  of
the village is located.  Such list shall be filed in the village clerk's
office  and  shall  be  available  upon  request  for  inspection by any
interested person.
4. Independent nominations for elective village offices shall be  made
by  a  petition  containing  the  signatures  in ink of residents of the
village  who  are  registered  with  the  appropriate  county  board  of
elections at the time of signing or who are residents of the village who
were  on  the list of registered voters for the last village election in
such village. The sheets of such a  petition  shall  be  numbered.  Such
petition  must  set  forth in each instance the correct date of signing,
the name of the signer and his or her present address, and may set forth
a committee to fill vacancies  consisting  of  at  least  three  persons
qualified to vote in the village election and their residence within the
village.  A  signer  need  not  himself  or  herself fill in the date or
residence. Each sheet of such petition  must  be  in  substantially  the
following  form  and  shall contain all the information required therein
except as may otherwise be permitted by law.
VILLAGE INDEPENDENT NOMINATING PETITION
I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a  registered  voter  of
the  Village  of .........., that my present place of residence is truly
stated opposite my signature, and I do  hereby  nominate  the  following
named person (or persons) as a candidate (or as candidates) for election
to  public office (or public offices) to be voted for at the election to
be held on the ..... day of ........, 20....., and  that  I  select  the
name .............. (fill  in  name) as the name of the independent body
making the nomination (or nominations) and ..... (fill in emblem) as the
emblem of such body.
Public Office                        include district
number, if
Name of Candidate     applicable)         Term        Residence
....................  .................   ........    .................
....................  .................   ........    .................
 
I do hereby appoint _ _ _ _
Name                            Residence
.............................   .................................
.............................   .................................
as a committee to fill vacancies in accordance with  the  provisions  of
the election law.
IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,  I have signed this petition on the day and year
stated before my signature.
Date             Signature          Residence
.............    .................  ...............
.............    .................  ...............
STATEMENT OF WITNESS
I, ............... state that I am a duly qualified voter of the State
of New York. I now reside at .......... (residence address). Each of the
voters   whose   names   are   subscribed   to   this   petition  sheet,
containing ........ (fill in number) signatures, subscribed his  or  her
name in my presence.
I  understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as
the equivalent of an affidavit and, if  it  contains  a  material  false
statement,  shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly
sworn.
Date ....................        ...........................
Signature of Witness
5. The name selected for the independent body  making  the  nomination
shall  be in the English language and shall not include the name or part
of the name, or an abbreviation of the name or of part of the name, of a
then existing party. The name and emblem shown upon such petition  shall
conform to the requirements of this chapter, relating to party names and
party  emblems.  If  such  a  petition  shall not show an emblem, or the
petition shall fail to select a name  for  such  independent  body,  the
village clerk shall select an emblem or name, or both to distinguish the
candidates nominated thereby.
6.  An  independent  nominating  petition for a village office must be
signed  by  at  least  one  hundred  voters  in  villages  containing  a
population  of five thousand or more; by at least seventy-five voters in
villages containing a population of three thousand and  less  than  five
thousand;  and  by  at  least  fifty  voters  in  villages  containing a
population of one thousand and less than three thousand; and in villages
containing a population of less than one thousand by voters numbering at
least five per centum of the  number  of  voters  at  the  last  regular
village  election. For the purposes of this section, the population of a
village shall be determined by  the  last  federal  decennial  or  local
special  population  census  federally  supervised  pursuant  to section
twenty of the general municipal law.
7. a. A certificate of party nomination for an office to be filled  at
the  time  of a general or special village election for offices shall be
filed not earlier than fifty-four days nor later than  forty-seven  days
preceding the election.
b.  A  certificate  of acceptance or declination of a party nomination
for an office to be filled at the time of a general or  special  village
election  shall  be  filed  not later than forty-four days prior to such
election.
c. A certificate to fill a vacancy caused by declination  of  a  party
nomination  for  an  office  to  be  filled  at the time of a general or
special village election shall be filed not later  than  forty-one  days
prior to such election.
d. Party designating petitions for a village primary election shall be
filed  in  the  office  of the village clerk not earlier than twenty-two
days nor later than fifteen days prior to  the  primary  election.  Upon

such  a  filing,  the village clerk shall immediately notify the village
election chairman of such party and the person or persons designated  in
such  petition  of the fact of such filing and that such petition may be
inspected in his office.
(e)  A written declination of a party designation must be filed in the
office of the village clerk within three days of the date of the  filing
of  the  designating  petition. Upon the filing of such declination, the
village clerk shall,  within  one  day  notify  the  committee  to  fill
vacancies  named  in  the  petition.  A  certificate to fill the vacancy
caused by a declination or any other  reason  must  be  filed  with  the
village  clerk  within  three  days  after the date of the notice to the
committee to fill vacancies and shall have appended thereto the  written
consent of the person or persons designated.
8. a. An independent nominating petition for an office to be filled at
the  time  of  a  general or special village election shall be filed not
earlier than forty-two days nor later than  thirty-five  days  preceding
the election.
b.  A  certificate  of  acceptance  or  declination  of an independent
nomination for an office to be filled  at  the  time  of  a  general  or
special  village election shall be filed not later than three days after
the  last  day  to  file  the  petition  which  made  such   independent
nomination.
c.  A  certificate  to  fill  a  vacancy caused by a declination of an
independent nomination for an office to be  filled  at  the  time  of  a
general or special village election for offices shall be filed not later
than  three  days  after  the  last  day  to  file  the  certificate  of
declination, and shall have appended thereto the written consent of  the
person or persons nominated.
9.  Any village resident who is a registered voter of the village and,
in the case of a designating petition, an enrolled member of  the  party
filing  the  petition,  may sign an independent nominating petition or a
designating petition providing that: (a) such  signature  was  not  made
more  than six weeks prior to the last day to file such petition; (b) he
has not signed more  than  one  petition  designating  or  nominating  a
candidate  for  mayor or village justice. If he has signed more than one
such petition, only the earliest signature for each such office shall be
valid; (c) he has not signed  more  than  one  petition  designating  or
nominating  a  candidate for each vacancy which exists for the office of
village trustee or village justice if the village has provided  for  two
such  justices.  If  he  has signed more than one such petition for each
such vacancy, only the earlier signatures shall be valid; or (d) he does
not vote at a primary election or party caucus  where  a  candidate  was
nominated for the same office or each such vacancy.
10.    A  written  objection  to  an  independent nominating petition,
designating petition or certificate of nomination shall be filed in  the
office  of  the  village  clerk no later than one day following the last
date upon which such petition or certificate may be filed or within  one
day after such petition or certificate is received by the village clerk,
if  such petition or certificate is mailed as provided by law, whichever
is later. Written specifications of the grounds of the objections  shall
be  filed with the village clerk within two days after the filing of the
written objection. A failure to file such written  specifications  shall
render  the  original  objection  null  and  void.  Upon receipt of such
written specification, the village clerk  shall  forthwith  notify  each
candidate  named  in  the  petition  or certificate and shall notify the
county board of elections of the county in which the village is located.
For purposes of this section, a village shall be deemed  to  be  located
within  a  county  if  more  than fifty percent of the population of the

village as shown by the last federal decennial or special census resides
in that portion of the village located in that county. Upon  receipt  of
the  written  specifications  as  herein  required,  the county board of
elections shall immediately take all steps necessary and consistent with
this  chapter  to render a determination on the questions raised in such
objections and specifications. When a determination has been made by the
county  board  of  elections  that  the  petition   is   sufficient   or
insufficient,  it  shall  immediately  notify the village clerk and each
candidate  named  in  the  petition  or  certificate,   and,   if   such
determination was made on objection, the objector.