A 8969: Removes the requirement that candidates include their home address on nominating or designating petition forms.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8969 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY August 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to removing the require- ment for candidates to include their home address on petition forms The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 6-132 of the election law, as 2 amended by section 2 of part QQ of chapter 55 of the laws of 2025, is 3 amended and a new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows: 4 1. Each sheet of a designating petition shall be signed in ink and 5 shall contain the following information and shall be in substantially 6 the following form: 7 I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a duly enrolled voter of 8 the.................... party and entitled to vote at the next primary 9 election of such party, to be held on..............., 20...; that my 10 place of residence is truly stated opposite my signature hereto, and I 11 do hereby designate the following named person (or persons) as a candi- 12 date (or candidates) for the nomination of such party for public office 13 or for election to a party position of such party. 14 ________________________________________________________________________ 15 **(JOINTLY DESIGNATED CANDIDACY FOR GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR)** 16 Name of Governor Residence and/or political 17 Candidate subdivision of Candidate 18 for Governor for Governor 19 ............ ......................... 20 ............ ......................... 21 Name of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13395-03-5 
 A. 8969 2 1 Candidate for 2 Lieutenant Lieutenant Governor Residence and/or political 3 Governor subdivision of Candidate 4 for Lieutenant Governor 5 ............ ......................... 6 ............ ......................... 7 ________________________________________________________________________ 8 Public Office Place of Residence and/or 9 or party position political subdivision 10 Names of (include district number, (also post office address, 11 candidates if applicable) if not identical) 12 ............ ................ ......................... 13 ............ ................ ......................... 14 I do hereby appoint .............................. (insert the names 15 and addresses of at least three persons, all of whom shall be enrolled 16 voters of said party) as a committee to fill vacancies in accordance 17 with the provisions of the election law. 18 In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, the day and year 19 placed opposite my signature. 20 Date Name of Signer Residence 21 ............ ............ ......................... 22 ............ ............ ......................... 23 Town or city (except 24 in the city of New 25 York, the county) 26 ............ 27 ............ 28 1-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate shall not 29 be required to list their full home address on the cover sheet or any 30 page of a designating petition or independent nominating petition. In 31 lieu thereof, the candidate may list the political subdivision in which 32 they reside, such as the city, town, or village, and the county of resi- 33 dence. 34 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 6-140 of the election 35 law, as amended by section 5 of part QQ of chapter 55 of the laws of 36 2025, is amended and a new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows: 37 a. Each sheet of an independent nominating petition shall be signed in 38 ink, shall contain the following information and shall be in substan- 39 tially the following form: 40 I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a registered voter of 41 the political unit for which a nomination for public office is hereby 42 being made, that my present place of residence is truly stated opposite 43 my signature hereto, and that I do hereby nominate the following named 44 person (or persons) as a candidate (or as candidates) for election to 45 public office (or public offices) to be voted for at the election to be 46 held on the ............ day of ................, 20...., and that I 47 select the name ............................ (fill in name) as the name 48 of the independent body making the nomination (or nominations) and 49 ................ (fill in emblem) as the emblem of such body. 
 A. 8969 3 1 ________________________________________________________________________ 2 **(JOINTLY DESIGNATED CANDIDACY FOR GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR)** 3 Name of Governor Residence and/or political 4 Candidate subdivision of Candidate 5 for Governor for Governor 6 ............ ......................... 7 ............ ......................... 8 Name of 9 Candidate for 10 Lieutenant Lieutenant Governor Residence and/or political 11 Governor subdivision 12 of Candidate for Lieutenant 13 Governor 14 ............ ......................... 15 ............ ......................... 16 ________________________________________________________________________ 17 Public Place of residence and/or 18 Office political subdivision 19 Name of (include district (also post office 20 Candidate number, if applicable) address 21 if not identical) 22 .......... ................. .......................... 23 .......... ................. .......................... 24 I do hereby appoint ............................. (here insert the 25 names and addresses of at least three persons, all of whom shall be 26 registered voters within such political unit), as a committee to fill 27 vacancies in accordance with the provisions of the election law. 28 In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, the day and year 29 placed opposite my signature. 30 Date Name of Signer Residence 31 ............ ............ ......................... 32 ............ ............ ......................... 33 Town or city (except 34 in the city of New 35 York, the county) 36 ............ 37 ............ 38 1-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate shall not 39 be required to list their full home address on the cover sheet or any 40 page of a designating petition or independent nominating petition. In 41 lieu thereof, the candidate may list the political subdivision in which 42 they reside, such as the city, town, or village, and the county of resi- 43 dence. 44 § 3. Section 6-144 of the election law, as amended by chapter 635 of 45 the laws of 1990, the opening paragraph as amended by chapter 150 of the 46 laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 47 § 6-144. Nominating and designating petitions and certificates; place 48 for filing. Petitions, certificates and minutes specified in this arti- 49 cle shall be filed in the office of the Board of Elections of the coun- 
 A. 8969 4 1 ty, except as follows: for an office or position to be voted for wholly 2 within the city of New York, in the office of the Board of Elections of 3 that city; for an office or position to be voted for in a district 4 greater than one county, or portions of two or more counties, in the 5 office of the state board of elections; for a village office to be 6 filled in a village election not conducted by the board of elections, in 7 the office of the village clerk. All such petitions and certificates 8 shall at the time of filing thereof be endorsed by such officer or board 9 with the day, hour and minute of such filing. Such officer or board 10 shall keep a book, which shall be open to public inspection in which 11 shall be entered the times of filing all such petitions and certif- 12 icates; the names, political subdivisions, and residences, if disclosed, 13 of all candidates named therein; the names, political subdivisions, and 14 residences, if disclosed, of all candidates certified to such officer or 15 board; the title of the office or party position; the name of the party 16 or independent body to which the petition or certificate relates and a 17 memorandum of any objections to such petition or certificate. Forthwith 18 upon the filing of a petition or certificate designating or nominating a 19 person or persons for public office, such officer or board shall mail 20 notice thereof to each such person. Such notice shall also state the 21 last day to decline such designation or nomination, and include a state- 22 ment that the candidate's name shall appear on the ballot as it appears 23 in such notice. 24 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 6-204 of the election law, as separately 25 amended by chapters 106 and 176 of the laws of 2017, is amended and a 26 new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows: 27 1. Party designations for elective village offices shall be made on a 28 designating petition containing the signatures in ink of residents of 29 the village who are registered to vote with the appropriate county board 30 of elections at the time of signing and who are enrolled in such poli- 31 tical party. The sheets of such a petition shall be numbered. A signer 32 need not [himself or herself] fill in the date or residence themselves. 33 Each sheet of such petition [must] shall be in substantially the follow- 34 ing form and shall contain all the information required therein: 35 PARTY DESIGNATING PETITION 36 I, the undersigned do hereby state that I am a registered voter of the 37 Village of ............. and a duly enrolled voter of the ............. 38 party and entitled to vote at the next primary election of such party, 39 that my place of residence is truly stated opposite my signature hereto, 40 and I hereby designate the following named person (or persons) as a 41 candidate or (candidates) for nomination of such party for the public 42 office or (public offices) to be voted for at the primary election to be 43 held on the ...... day of ............ 20.... as hereinafter specified. 44 Public Office 45 (include district 46 number, if 47 Name of Candidate applicable) Term Residence 48 and/or 49 political 50 subdivision 51 .................... ................. .......... ............ 52 .................... ................. .......... ............ 
 A. 8969 5 1 I do hereby appoint (insert names and addresses of at least three 2 persons, all of whom shall be enrolled voters of said party) as a 3 committee to fill vacancies in accordance with the provisions of the 4 election law. 5 In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, the day and year 6 placed opposite my signature. 7 Date Name Residence 8 ............. ............. ............... 9 ............. ............. ............... 10 STATEMENT OF WITNESS 11 I ............... (name of witness) state: I am a duly qualified voter 12 of the State of New York; and an enrolled voter of the ......... party. 13 I now reside at ..... (residence address). Each of the persons whose 14 names are subscribed to this petition sheet containing ......... signa- 15 tures, subscribed [his or her] their name in my presence. 16 I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as 17 the equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false 18 statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly 19 sworn. 20 ........................ ................................. 21 Date: Signature of witness 22 In lieu of the signed statement of a witness who is a duly qualified 23 voter of the state qualified to sign the petition, the following state- 24 ment signed by a notary public shall be accepted: 25 On the dates above indicated before me personally came each of the 26 voters whose signatures appear on this petition sheet containing 27 ............. (fill in number) signatures, who signed same in my pres- 28 ence and who, being by me duly sworn, each for [himself or herself] 29 themselves, said that the foregoing statement made and subscribed by 30 [him or her] such person, was true. 31 Date.................. 32 ............................... 33 (Signature and official title 34 of officer administering oath) 35 Page No........ 36 1-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate shall not 37 be required to list their full home address on the cover sheet or any 38 page of a designating petition or independent nominating petition. In 39 lieu thereof, the candidate may list the political subdivision in which 40 they reside, such as the city, town, or village, and the county of resi- 41 dence. 42 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 6-206 of the election law, as separately 43 amended by chapters 106 and 176 of the laws of 2017, is amended and a 44 new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows: 45 1. Independent nominations for elective village offices shall be made 46 by a petition containing the signatures in ink of residents of the 47 village who are registered with the appropriate county board of 
 A. 8969 6 1 elections at the time of signing. The sheets of such a petition shall be 2 numbered. A signer need not [himself or herself] fill in the date or 3 residence themselves. Each sheet of such petition [must] shall be in 4 substantially the following form and shall contain all the information 5 required therein: 6 VILLAGE INDEPENDENT NOMINATING PETITION 7 I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a registered voter of 8 the Village of......., that my present place of residence is truly stat- 9 ed opposite my signature, and I do hereby nominate the following named 10 person (or persons) as a candidate (or as candidates) for election to 11 public office (or public offices) to be voted for at the election to be 12 held on the.....day of........, 20....., and that I select the 13 name........... (fill in name) as the name of the independent body 14 making the nomination (or nominations) and.....(fill in emblem) as the 15 emblem of such body. 16 Name of 17 Candidate Public Office Term Residence and/or 18 (include district political 19 number, if applicable) subdivision 20 ............. .................... .... ............... 21 ............. .................... .... ............... 22 I do hereby appoint (insert names and addresses of at least three 23 persons, all of whom shall be registered voters within such village) as 24 a committee to fill vacancies in accordance with the provisions of the 25 election law. 26 In witness whereof, I have signed this petition on the day and year 27 stated before my signature. 28 Date Signature Residence 29 .......... ................. ................... 30 .......... ................. ................... 31 STATEMENT OF WITNESS 32 I, ..................... state that I am a duly qualified voter of the 33 State of New York. I now reside at ................ (residence address). 34 Each of the voters whose names are subscribed to this petition sheet 35 containing ................ (fill in number) signatures, subscribed [his 36 or her] their name in my presence. 37 I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as 38 the equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false 39 statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly 40 sworn. 41 ....................... .............................. 42 Date Signature of witness 43 1-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate shall not 44 be required to list their full home address on the cover sheet or any 45 page of a designating petition or independent nominating petition. In 46 lieu thereof, the candidate may list the political subdivision in which 47 they reside, such as the city, town, or village, and the county of resi- 48 dence. 
 A. 8969 7 1 § 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 15-108 of the election 2 law, as separately amended by chapters 106 and 176 of the laws of 2017, 3 is amended to read as follows: 4 a. (1) Party designations for elective village offices shall be made 5 on a designating petition containing the signatures in ink of residents 6 of the village who are registered to vote with the appropriate county 7 board of elections at the time of signing and who are enrolled in such 8 political party. The sheets of such a petition shall be numbered. Such 9 petition [must] shall set forth in each instance the correct date of 10 signing, the name of the signer, and [his or her] such signer's present 11 address, and may set forth a committee to fill vacancies consisting of 12 at least three qualified voters of the village enrolled in such party 13 and their residence within the village. A signer need not [himself or 14 herself] fill in the date or residence themselves. Each sheet of such 15 petition [must] shall be in substantially the following form and shall 16 contain all the information required therein: 17 PARTY DESIGNATING PETITION 18 I, the undersigned do hereby state that I am a registered voter of the 19 Village of ...... and a duly enrolled voter of the ........ party and 20 entitled to vote at the next primary election of such party, that my 21 place of residence is truly stated opposite my signature hereto, and I 22 hereby designate the following named person (or persons) as a candidate 23 (or candidates) for nomination of such party for the public office (or 24 public offices) to be voted for at the primary election to be held on 25 the ...... day of ........... 20.... as hereinafter specified. 26 Public Office 27 (include district 28 number, if 29 Name of Candidate applicable) Term Residence and/or 30 political 31 subdivision 32 .................... ................. ....... ............... 33 .................... ................. ....... ............... 34 I do hereby appoint (insert names and addresses of at least three 35 persons, all of whom shall be enrolled voters of said party) as a 36 committee to fill vacancies in accordance with the provisions of the 37 election law. 38 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand, the day and year 39 placed opposite my signature. 40 Date Name Residence and/or 41 political subdivision 42 ............. ............. ............... 43 ............. ............. ............... 44 STATEMENT OF WITNESS 45 I ............... (name of witness) state: I am a duly qualified voter 46 of the State of New York; and an enrolled voter of the ......... party. 47 I now reside at ..............(residence address). Each of the persons 
 A. 8969 8 1 whose names are subscribed to this petition sheet 2 containing ......... signatures, subscribed [his or her] their name in 3 my presence. 4 I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as 5 the equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false 6 statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly 7 sworn. 8 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate shall not 9 be required to list their full home address on the cover sheet or any 10 page of a designating petition or independent nominating petition. In 11 lieu thereof, the candidate may list the political subdivision in which 12 they reside, such as the city, town, or village, and the county of resi- 13 dence. 14 § 7. Subdivision 8 of section 3-220 of the election law, as added by 15 section 6 of part F of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is amended to 16 read as follows: 17 8. Where a board of elections receives a notification pursuant to 18 paragraph (c) of subdivision two of section eight hundred fifty-nine of 19 the judiciary law, such board of elections shall comply with such 20 notification[, except that where the notification requires the board of 21 elections to cease making a person's address public, such board shall 22 not comply therewith from the date of filing of any ballot access or 23 related document containing such address until thirty days after the 24 last day to commence a special proceeding or action with respect to such 25 filing]. 26 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.