WHAT ARE PETITIONS FOR?

NY State election law requires candidates for public office to file petitions signed by 5% of their party membership who reside within the venue of the office being sought. That is, only voters enrolled in the Independence Party who are eligible to vote for the candidate in a primary election are permitted to sign his or her petition.

What are people saying by signing a candidate’s petition?  “I agree that this person should get a chance to compete for this public office.” What they are NOT saying is, “I will vote for this candidate,” or “I approve of this candidate’s policies.”

The signature is therefore not a vote for anything, or approval of anything, or support for anything; but merely a nod more or less saying, LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

Then why pester voters to sign some meaningless document? The OBVIOUS ANSWER: the petition is of value to somebody, and that somebody is the prospective candidate. Since every party voter gets only ONE nod per candidate per public office, the prospective candidate is saying, “Give me your nod.” While you can sign any and all the petitions you want, only the FIRST petition you sign to fill a particular public office (ie, city council, state assembly, etc.) is valid.

At this point in time (petition time) there is no candidate, no campaign, and no policies, just some vague possibilities. Only two people can move to solidify the possibilities: the prospective candidate, and you; the unspoken dialog is roughly this, “me me me I want to try” and “OK, here’s my nod, give it a whirl, show me your best stuff and maybe I might vote for you in the next election, but remember, I take a lot of convincing.”

The petition process is cumbersome and imperfect, but an important civic duty - not unlike jury duty.  Membership in a political party carries with it certain responsibilities - both inherent in citizenship and part of the system some call democracy, and others refer to as government by self rule; in short, our chosen way of life.– joseph tiraco june 5, 2010

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