Ballot access requirements for political parties in New York
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Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.
To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in New York, seethis article.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
See statutes:Article 6, Section 128 of the New York Election Law
InNew York, a political party is defined as any political organization whose candidate forgovernor or president at the last preceding election won at least 2% of all votes cast for the office, or 130,000 votes, whichever is greater. New York does not provide a process for political organizations to gain qualified status in advance of an election. Instead, political organizations seeking party status must run a candidate for governor or president via the independent nomination process (click here for more information). The organization may denote its name on the nominating petition; the organization's name will then appear alongside the candidate's name on the ballot. The name selected must be rendered in English and cannot suggest similarity to an existing party or a political organization that has already filed. If at the general election the organization's candidate for meets the aforementioned threshold, the organization will then be recognized by the state as a political party.[1][2][3]
Procedural requirements
State laws stipulate that a party must form state and county committees. At their discretion and in accordance with their own rules, parties may also form other committees. Committees may prepare rules for governing the party within the committee's political unit (i.e., state or county). Within 10 days of adopting or amending any rule, a certified copy of the rule must be filed with the state board of elections and, in the case of county committees, the applicable county board of elections.[4][5]
First nominations by a newly recognized party
The first nominations made by a newly qualified political party (i.e., nominations for elections up to and including the first general election occurring after the party first qualifies) must be made in accordance with the party's rules. Certificates of nomination must be filed in the same manner as designating petitions (click here for more information).[6]
Thereafter, provided it maintains qualified status, the party must nominate candidates for office via primary election.[7]
Maintaining party status
In order to maintain qualified status, political parties must field candidates for governor or president in each gubernatorial or presidential election who win at least 2% of all votes cast for the office, or 130,000 votes, whichever is greater. In the event that a party's candidate fails to win the requisite votes, the party's voters are unenrolled, and the party must re-qualify.[1][8]
Political parties
As of May 2024, there were four recognized political parties inNew York. These are listed in the table below.[9]
Noteworthy events
2022
Second Circuit upheld New York ballot access laws passed in 2020
On October 19, 2022, theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the ballot access laws passed in New York in 2020. The Libertarian Party sued the New York State Board of Elections over these laws on July 28, 2020, calling them unconstitutional thresholds enacted to keep minor parties off of the ballot. A U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the New York State Board of Elections in 2021, and the Second Circuit upheld that ruling.[10]
Provisions of the 2020 ballot access laws include the following:[10]
- Increasing the statewide independent petition from 15,000 to 45,000 signatures.
- Changing the definition of a qualified party from a group that polls at least 50,000 votes for governor to one that polls 2% for the office at the top of the ticket every two years. In 2020, 2% was 172,337 votes.
- Retaining a six-week petitioning period, increasing the distribution requirement, and retaining a ban on anyone signing two petitions for the same office.
- Lacking any procedure for a group to transform itself into a qualified party in advance of an election--something that exists in 39 states.
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See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in New York
- Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in New York
- List of political parties in the United States
- Democratic Party of New York
- Republican Party of New York
External links
- New York Conservative Party
- New York Democratic Party
- New York Republican Party
- New York Working Families Party
Footnotes
- ↑1.01.1Laws of New York, "ELN § 1-104," accessed July 10, 2025
- ↑Laws of New York, "ELN § 6-138," accessed July 10, 2025
- ↑United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, "SAM Party v. Kosinski: Opinion and Order," September 1, 2020
- ↑Laws of New York, "ELN § 2-100," accessed July 10, 2025
- ↑Laws of New York, "ELN § 2-114," accessed July 10, 2025
- ↑Laws of New York, "ELN § 6-128," accessed July 10, 2025
- ↑Laws of New York, "ELN § 6-110," accessed July 10, 2025
- ↑Laws of New York, "ELN § 5-302," accessed July 10, 2025
- ↑New York State Board of Elections, "New York State Voter Registration Form," accessed May 20, 2024
- ↑10.010.1Bloomberg Law, "Libertarian Party Sues Over N.Y.'s New Ballot Access Requisites," July 28, 2020
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