Westchester Assembly member Amy Paulin has submitted legislation in the NY Assembly which would permit the removal of candidates for office from the ballot line of the party who nominated them, for several new reasons, including if that candidate has been indicted for a crime.
NY Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Brian Benjamin was indicted for political corruption last month. He resigned from office but his name remains on the ballot for the democratic primary June 23. Paulin’s Assembly bill, which is being forwarded in the State Senate by Senator Liz Kruger, would allow a candidate to be removed from the ballot for life-threatening illness, if they have been indicted, or has resigned.
Paulin posted on Facebook, “Why have someone on a ballot who is not running for the job? It makes no sense.We have the ability to change this, which is why I’ve proposed a bill to amend NYS election law and expand the categories for which a candidate can decline a nomination and get off a ballot. Under my proposal, if someone has a life-threatening illness, has been indicted for a crime, or has resigned from the office for which they are nominated or designated to run for re-election, they can get off the ballot.It’s not fair to voters to have someone on a ballot who isn’t a viable candidate.”
Susan Lerner, from Common Cause, agreed, writing in an Op-Ed in the Daily News, “Fortunately, Albany lawmakers have the power to change this for the primary — if they move quickly. A bill introduced by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin would amend the election law and expand the categories for which a candidate can decline the nomination and get off the ballot. They include: a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, being indicted for a crime, or resigning the office for which they are nominated or designated to run for re-election, for whatever reason. The Legislature must act promptly when they come back into session next week. The ballots are finalized on May 4, inking Benjamin’s name for good.” Lerner called the NYS Election Law which keeps candidates who should be removed on the ballot, “the dead hand of Tammany Hall reaching beyond the grave putting our politics in a stranglehold…This is a huge problem for the 6.4 million registered voters in the Democratic primary who will confront a ballot that does not reflect the reality of the field, some large number of whom may end up throwing away their vote on a candidate who is not running for office and would not serve if chosen.”
Former NYS Democratic Chair John Sullivan, writes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Ordinarily that is a wise choice for legislative bodies to make. But “if it is truly broken, why not fix it?” is an equally compelling political admonition. An electoral system which allows an office holder to resign from office when indicted, but at the same time, refuses to let that office holder resign from a candidacy is, let’s face it, irretrievably broken and in need of a fix.”
Whether or not Paulin and Kruger’s bill get a vote before May 4 may rest with State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Cousins said last week, “I really, really, really don’t like to change rules in the middle of a process,” when asked about changing the rules to allow Benjamin to be erased from the ballot.
Governor Kathy Hochul clearly wants her disgraced former Lt. Gov. off the ballot. “There is a need for a legislative solution. I would like the Legislature to do just that and to pass legislation that corrects what is really a strange part of our law that does not allow the removal of someone who is under indictment.”
Once New Yorkers get over the fact that the need to remove disgraced elected officials like Benjamin from the ballot is more worthy than punishing Hochul and NY Democrats for having someone indicted serving in a statewide capacity, the need to pass Paulin’s law is clear.
If passed, who would serve as Hochul’s Lt. Gov? “Could it be Assemblymember Amy Paulin?
