Petition Information & Running for Office

On This Page

Visit the NYS Board of Elections web site for more candidate information

NYS 2024 Political Calendar

General Information on Petitions

The information contained here is intended to provide general guidance for those who are preparing to circulate petitions and is not to be used as a substitute for consulting the Election Law for specific petition requirements.

Persons wishing to run for elective office in most cases must circulate a petition getting at least a predetermined number of signatures that must then be filed with the Board of Elections according to an election calendar.  If a candidate wishes to run on a particular constituted party line they may need to go through a designation process by that party and although a candidate may be designated by a political party they must still circulate a Designating Petition.  If a candidate does not wish to run on a constituted party line they may create their own independent line by circulating and filing an Independent Nominating Petition.  Party members may also circulate an Opportunity to Ballot Petition to create the opportunity to write in the name of an unspecified person for an office in which there is no contest for the party endorsement.  The current political parties are Democrat, Republican, Conservative and Working Families.  The requirements for all petitions are contained in Article 6 of the Election Law.

These sample forms were prepared by the State Board of Elections. They are all in Acrobat PDF format.

These forms can be printed and filled out by hand.

Please note that the Monroe County Board of Elections has guidance for candidates about how their name should be put on their petition to ensure that it appear properly on the ballot. Please see the Notice to Candidates Regarding "Candidate Change of Name" Requests. 

Electronic signatures are not acceptable.

Running For Office

Form of Petitions

The statute requires that all petitions be substantially in the form set forth in the law. See, Election Law §6-132 (party designating petitions) §6-140 (independent nominating petitions) and §15-108 (village designating and independent petitions). Deviations or slight rearrangements of the form of petition are not fatal defects, provided that the petition contains all of the required information.

Each sheet of the petition must correctly set forth:

  • the date of the election
  • the name of the candidate and the office or position sought
  • the candidate's residence, and if different, their mailing or post office address
  • information about the signer: date of signing, residence address, town or city
  • information relating to the person who witnesses the signatures

A petition may include a committee on vacancies. Failure to provide such a committee, or naming a committee of fewer than three persons, will not invalidate the petition.

The voter need only sign the appropriate line on the petition sheet. All other information may be filled in by someone else. Corrections may be made to any information on the signature line. Corrections or alterations in the date or the signature however,  MUST be initialed by the person making the correction.

Voters may not sign a petition for more candidates than there are openings for an office. For example, if there is one council seat open, then the voter may only sign one petition for a candidate for that office. If there are 2 seats open, the voter may sign petitions for 2 candidates.

The pages of a petition must be sequentially numbered and securely fastened.

Witnessing a Petition

Statement of Witness

Anyone who is qualified to sign a petition may witness a petition. The information required for the witness statement is mandatory. Omissions, errors, or unexplained alterations/corrections to that information may invalidate the entire page. When the witness signs the statement of witness, they are making an oath that subjects them to the penalties for perjury if any of the information preceding their signature is false, including the name and residence of the witness, the number of signatures on the page, the statement that each person signed in their presence and the date they are signing the statement. Witness identification information that follows the witness's signature may be provided by anyone, at any time before the petition is filed. This information includes the town or city and the county of the witness's registration.

OR Notary Public or Commissioner of Deeds

Any Notary Public or for someone who lives or works in the City of Rochester a Commissioner of Deeds may witness a petition The information required for the witness statement is mandatory. Omissions, errors, or unexplained alterations/corrections to that information may invalidate the entire page. When the Notary Public or Commissioner of Deeds signs the statement of witness, they are making an oath that subjects them to the penalties for perjury if any of the information preceding their signature is false. The information preceding the signature includes the number of signatures on the page; a statement that each person signed in their presence and the date they are signing the statement.

Cover Sheets

If there are 10 or more pages in a petition, there must be a cover sheet.  A multi-volume petition requires a cover sheet for each volume.

Cover sheets must contain the following information:

  • Name, residence address (and mailing address if different) of the candidate.
  • The public office or party position sought.
  • The name of the party or independent body making the nomination.
  • A statement that the petition contains a number of signatures equal to or in excess of the number required by statute.
  • The volume number OR identification number of that volume.
  • The total number of volumes in each petition OR the identification number for each volume of the petition.

The following information is optional:

  • The name, residence address (and mailing address if different), telephone number and facsimile number of the person designated to receive notice of deficiencies in binding or cover sheet requirements.

There are additional requirements if the petition contains candidates for county committee, and/or if there are different candidates on the various pages of the petition. Those requirements are contained in Part 6215 of the rules and regulations of the State Board of Elections.

Pursuant to Part 6215 of the rules and regulations of the State Board of Elections, the Board will provide notice of any correctable error(s) in cover sheet(s) and binding.

Filing of Petitions, Acceptances, Authorizations and Declinations

All filings must be filed timely (See the Political Calendar) and in the proper manner at the appropriate board of elections. Pursuant to section 1-106(1) of the New York State Election Law, all papers are required to be filed between the hours of nine A.M. and five P.M. If the last day for filing shall fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day shall become the last day for filing. All papers sent by mail in an envelope postmarked prior to midnight of the last day of filing shall be deemed filed timely and accepted for filing when received, except any documents that are required to be filed with the board of elections of the city of New York must be actually received by such city board of elections on or before midnight of the last day to file any such document. Failure to do so shall be a fatal defect.

No filings will be accepted by facsimile or e-mail.

Candidates must file a certificate of acceptance for nominations made by independent nominating petitions, or if they are named in a designating petition but are not enrolled members of that party. Neither an authorization nor an acceptance is required if the individual is a candidate for a judicial office. A declination must be filed should the candidate decide not to accept the designation or nomination.

Where to File:

Congressional Districts

  • 25th District - State Board of Elections

State Senate District

  • 54th District - State Board of Elections
  • 55th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 56th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 62nd District - State Board of Elections

State Assembly District

  • 130th District - State Board of Elections
  • 133rd District - State Board of Elections
  • 134th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 135th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 136th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 137th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 138th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 139th District - State Board of Elections

Local Offices

  • County, City and Town Office - Monroe County Board of Elections

Judicial Delegates

  • 130th District (Democrat, Conservative, Working Families) - State Board of Elections
  • 130th District (Republican) - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 133rd District (Democrat, Conservative, Working Families) - State Board of Elections
  • 133rd District (Republican) - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 134th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 135th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 136th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 137th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 138th District - Monroe County Board of Elections
  • 139th District - Monroe County Board of Elections

Picture of candidate at town hall meeting.Objections

Every petition is presumed to be valid when filed if, on its face, it appears to be in proper form and to contain enough signatures. However, a registered voter may challenge the validity of a petition. General written objections must be filed within 3 days after the petition is filed (1 day in a village election). Specifications of objections must be filed within 6 days of filing the general objections (2 days in a village election). For petitions filed with the State Board of Elections see the State Board's web site for additional rules.  The following rules and forms are specific to Monroe County.

Objection Guidance 

  • There are significant changes to New York State law and regulations applicable to the 2023 petition season and forward. These rules supersede their previous versions as well as Monroe County Board of Elections local rules.  The Board of Elections is required to apply these rules strictly and uniformly and may not excuse non-compliance.  Candidates and campaigns are advised to become familiar with them.

  • In addition, the Monroe County Board of Elections has developed a spreadsheet on which to submit specifications of objections. We will require all such specifications to be submitted in this format: Petition Research Specification Objection Form

  • In addition, there are new regulations governing record keeping by notaries. The text of the regulations may be found here at Sections 182.2 – 182.11.

https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/07/proposed-rule-making-notaries-public-electronic-notaries.pdf

  • The New York State Board of Elections guidance may be found here: Notary Advisory 
Top