In Matter of Barron v. Board of Elections in the City of New York , Inez D. Barron sued the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) for hindering her New York State Assembly candidacy.
On April 8, 2008, Assembly member Diane Gordon was forced to resign after she was convicted of bribery and misconduct in public office. BOE issued a vacancy notice, and Barron -- believing there would be a special election (in addition to primary and general elections for the slot) -- circulated petitions. When she learned that a special election wasn't going to be held, Barron filed suit against the BOE and violations of New York State's Election Law were alleged.
While the Kings County Supreme Court aligned with Barron and directed the BOE to conduct an election to fill the unexpire term, it also found Barron had secured an "unfair advantage over other possible candidates ... in that she had started circulating designating petitions ... at a time when other possible candidates may not have been aware that a primary election and a general election would be held." In effect, the signatures she compiled prior to July 2, 2008 were invalidated.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, believed penalizing the candidate for her foresight, and disenfranchising voters who signed her petitions, would be unjust and inequitable and elected to reverse that part of the decision which adversely impacted the signatures she had secured from registered voters.
Late last week, our state's highest court decided the timing of Gordon's resignation was such that the law required the seat to remain vacant through December 31, 2008 -- the unexpired balance of Gordon's term.
Barron's efforts were not for naught. If she wins tomorrow's primary, and the election in November, her term will start January 1, 2009 (rather than immediately).
To download a copy of the Court of Appeals's decision, please use this link: Matter of Barron v. Board of Elections in the City of New York
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Matter of Barron v. Board of Elections in the City of New York