NYS Ballot Access Challenges to be Impacted by Change to Designating Petition Filing Period
By: Joseph T. Burns
In 2025, the New York State legislature passed and Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill to alter the time for filing designating petitions in 2026. Specifically, the bill extends the period for filing designating petitions. For 2026 and only 2026, the period for filing designating petitions begins on March 30 and ends on April 6. Absent the change to the Election Law, this period would have ended on Thursday, April 2. This change was made to accommodate those who are observing Passover.
While this change to the designating petition filing period might appear minor, candidates, party leaders, campaign staff, and political consultants should be aware that this change will have an impact on objectors’ and candidates’ legal challenges to designating petitions.
The period for instituting a judicial proceeding to invalidate a designating petition is measured from the last day to file the petition. Objectors to petitions and candidates have fourteen days from the last day to file a petition to institute a proceeding to invalidate the petition. Because the period for filing designating petitions in 2026 has been extended four days, this fourteen-day period is now measured from April 6 instead of April 2, the day that would have been the last day to file designating petitions had this change to the Election Law not occurred. Objectors and candidates seeking to invalidate an opponent’s designating petition will have an additional four days to commence a judicial proceeding.
This should not be confused with the period for filing general and specific objections against a candidate’s designating petition. The window for filing designating petitions is measured from the date the candidate files his or her designating petitions with the appropriate Board of Elections. Objectors must file general objections against a designating petition within three days of the petition being filed with the Board of Elections. That objector may file specific objections within six days of the filing of the general objections. Unlike the window for commencing a judicial proceeding, the window for filing objections is measured from the filing of the petition, not the time the Election Law sets as the last day for filing petitions.
The time for filing objections to designating petitions and proceedings to invalidate designating petitions is short, and even seasoned campaign veterans can be confused by these processes. Missing a deadline to object to a petition or institute a proceeding to invalidate a petition can be a costly error for a campaign. Candidates, party leaders, campaign staff, and political consultants who anticipate challenges to the designating petitions of opponents should confer with attorneys with experience in this field long before the time for filing objections and invalidation proceedings arrives.
