City Councilmember and public advocate candidate Bill de Blasio, who had been removed from the ballot in the Democratic primary because of a one−digit typographical error accompanying his 125,000−plus petition signatures, was reinstated upon review of the issue by the city’s Board of Elections.
“I sincerely thank the Board of Elections for voting today to reinstate me on the ballot for public advocate. While the struggle is over for my campaign, the larger battle of ensuring Democratic choice in our city’s election system still remains,” said de Blasio.
“In the coming days and as public advocate, I will propose and fight for comprehensive reforms to New York City election laws. Elections in our city should be about choice, debate, and democracy, and I am happy to say that the voices of over 100,000 New Yorkers will now be heard,” he added.
The squabble between the Board of Elections and de Blasio’s campaign began after the bipartisan BOE staff committee, which reviews all petitions, noticed that de Blasio’s cover sheets claimed three extra volumes of signatures.
According to election law, de Blasio’s campaign was notified and they had three days to rectify the errors, said BOE spokesperson Valerie Vazquez.
Vazquez said that when the cover sheet was re−submitted, the board found it indicated 131 pages of signatures when there were actually 132.
Vazquez said following the second mishap, the board met and decided to remove de Blasio from the ballot.
Following the mishap, de Blasio’s lawyers, Stanley Schlein and Henry Berger, successfully argued that the clerical error was actually made by BOE counsel Steven Richman.
“It was our own process that negatively impacted the candidate,” BOE President Frederic Umane told reporters.
The board then voted 8−0 with one abstention to reinstate de Blasio.
De Blasio’s primary opponents −− including Mark Green, who held the job from 1994 to 2001, and civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel, both said they supported de Blasio’s effort to get back on the ballot.
Another candidate, Queens Councilman Eric Gioia, went to some of de Blasio’s supporters seeking their support if de Blasio was kicked off the ballot.
