§ 6-134. Designating petition; rules. 1. A designating petition may
designate candidates for nomination for one or more different public
offices or for nomination for election to one or more party positions or
both, but designations or nominations for which the petitions are
required to be filed in different offices or petitions for the same
public office or party position in different political subdivisions may
not be combined in the same petition. If two or more offices having the
same title are to be filled for different terms, the terms of office
shall be included as part of the title of the office.

2. Sheets of a designating petition shall be delivered to the board of
elections in the manner prescribed by regulations that shall be
promulgated by the state board of elections, provided, however, that the
sheets of any volume of a petition shall be numbered. Such regulations
shall be no more restrictive than is reasonably necessary for the
processing of such petitions by the board of elections. Such regulations
shall be binding on the boards of election in each county and in the
city of New York. When a determination is made that a designating
petition does not comply with such regulations, the candidate shall have
three business days from the date of such determination to cure the
violation.

3. If a voter shall sign any petition or petitions designating a
greater number of candidates for public office or party position than
the number of persons to be elected thereto his signatures, if they bear
the same date, shall not be counted upon any petition, and if they bear
different dates shall be counted in the order of their priority of date,
for only so many designees as there are persons to be elected.

4. A signature made earlier than thirty-seven days before the last day
to file designating petitions for the primary election shall not be
counted.

* 4-a. Notwithstanding the time fixed in subdivision four of this
section, for the year two thousand twenty-four, any signature made on a
designating petition for the public office of representative in the
house of representatives of the congress of the United States, or any
party position elected from a congressional district, made earlier than
February twenty-ninth, two thousand twenty-four shall not be counted for
such office or party position; provided, however, any signature made on
a designating petition for offices or party positions other than for the
public office of representative in the house of representatives of the
congress of the United States, or any party position elected from a
congressional district, which is consistent with the time fixed in
subdivision four of this section shall be counted for such office or
party position.

* NB Repealed December 31, 2024

5. The use of titles, initials or customary abbreviations of given
names by the signers of, or witnesses to, designating petitions or the
use of customary abbreviations of addresses of such signers or
witnesses, shall not invalidate such signatures or witness statement
provided that the identity of the signer or witness as a registered
voter can be established by reference to the signature on the petition
and that of a person whose name appears in the registration poll
ledgers, provided, however, nothing in this section shall prevent a
court from receiving sworn testimony or other admissible evidence as to
the authenticity of a signature when such signature would otherwise be
invalidated for not matching the signature on file with the board of
elections.

6. An alteration or correction of information appearing on a signature
line, other than the signature itself and the date, shall not invalidate
such signature.

7. A signer need only place his signature upon the petition, and need
not himself fill in the other required information.

8. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the failure to
list a committee to fill vacancies or the failure to list at least three
eligible voters as a committee to fill vacancies shall not invalidate
the petition unless a vacancy occurs which, under law, may be filled
only by such a committee.

9. A person other than the subscribing witness may insert the
information required by the subscribing witness statement, provided that
all subscribing witness information required above the subscribing
witness' signature is inserted either before such subscribing witness
signs the statement or in the presence of such subscribing witness.

10. The provisions of this section shall be liberally construed, not
inconsistent with substantial compliance thereto and the prevention of
fraud.

11. If the number of signatures on any petition sheet is understated
in the witness statement, such petition sheet shall not be invalid
solely because of such understatement, but such petition sheet will be
deemed to contain the number of signatures indicated on such witness
statement and the signatures at the end of such petition sheet that are
in excess of the number so indicated shall be deemed not to have been
filed.

12. A signature on a petition sheet shall not be deemed invalid solely
because the address provided is the post office address of the signer
provided that proof that such address is the accepted address of such
signer is provided to the board of elections no later than three days
following the receipt of specific objections to such signature.

13. In addition to the requirement for the signature, the printed name
of the signer may be added, provided that the failure to provide a place
to print the name or failure to print a name if a space is provided
shall not invalidate the signature or petition.