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Nos. 56 & 58
candidates attributed the lateness of their cover sheets to the same third party “agent” who,
according to his affidavit, was “responsible for filing the respective cover sheets.”
Seawright was similarly free to enlist the assistance of an agent, including any number of
individuals associated with her campaign, to timely file her required cover sheet.
Nor were candidates required to break “mandatory quarantine” (Rivera, J.,
dissenting op at 2) in order to submit their certificates of acceptance. In her affidavit,
Seawright asserts only that, because she was “ill and under quarantine,” she could not seek
out “a notary to witness in person [her] signature.” However, Executive Order 202.7,
issued on March 19, expressly permitted notarization using “audio-video technology,” and
the Election Law allows for certificates of acceptance to be mailed, rather than hand
delivered, to the appropriate board of elections (see Election Law § 1-106 [1]). Tellingly,
according to the City Board, more than 1,000 designating petitions were timely and
properly filed in New York City alone – including by candidates experiencing the same
challenges as these petitioners.
We have considered petitioners’ remaining contentions and find them to be without
merit.
In Seawright, the order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, without costs,
the petitions by Rebecca Seawright to validate her designating petitions denied, and the
petitions by Louis Puliafito to invalidate Seawright’s designating petitions granted. In
Hawatmeh, the order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, without costs.
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