[EL] Electronic Signing Of Petitions

[Steven John Mulroy (smulroy)]

It's a fairly recent controversy.  In late April a suit was filed in NY State Supreme Court (which is a trial level court), Eisner v. Cuomo, complaining that an independent congressional candidate could not get on the ballot because the lockdown prevented in-person petition signatures.  Gov. Cuomo had previously relaxed the deadlines and signature quotas for getting onto a  partisan primary ballot but apparently did not do so for independent candidates, who have a somewhat later schedule for getting petition signatures.  Gov. Cuomo had also issued executive orders allowing remote notarization for realty transactions,  https://www.natlawreview.com/article/remote-notarization-light-covid-19 -one for signing will, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care proxies,  https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-york-governor-temporarily-adjusts-27318/ , and one waiving the requirement to apply in person for a marriage license or have an in-person officiation of a wedding. https://abc7ny.com/ny-marriage-licenses-coronavirus-new-york-cases-in/6114683/  The suit seeks the same kind of virtual signing protocol for ballot access petitions.
________________________________
From: sks4law <sks4law at aol.com>
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2020 3:10 PM
To: Steven John Mulroy (smulroy) <smulroy at memphis.edu>
Cc: law-election at department-lists.uci.edu <law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
Subject: Re: [EL] Electronic Signing Of Petitions

As far as I know, there is no such controversy; electronic signatures are not permitted in NY at all.

I would be very curious to know what the rules are in other states, though, because it’s an avenue worth exploring for the future.

Sarah Steiner


On May 11, 2020, at 4:06 PM, Steven John Mulroy (smulroy) <smulroy at memphis.edu> wrote:



There is a controversy in New York about the ability to get electronic petition signatures to get on the ballot while candidates are in lockdown and prevented from getting in-person signatures. Does anyone happen to know about rules in other states re: electronic signatures, either preexisting rules or any temporary pandemic-related adaptations?
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