-3- Nos. 56 & 58 On March 18, 2020, faced with the reality of a global pandemic and the growing awareness that New York State was the epicenter of a life-threatening, fast-spreading coronavirus, the legislature passed and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law Chapter 24 of the Laws of 2020 to address concerns of viral exposure during the current primary election petitioning process. As relevant to this appeal, the legislature sought to minimize exposure by shortening the statutory filing deadlines by mandating that “designating petition[s] for the June 2020 primary election shall be filed with the appropriate board of elections on March 17 through March 20, 2020” (L 2020, ch 24, § 1). As a result, the deadline for filing designating petitions and certificates of acceptance for the June 23, 2020 primary election were moved up from April 2, 2020 and April 6, 2020 to March 20, 2020 and March 24, 2020, respectively (see Election Law § 6-158 [1], [2]). Petitioner was also subject to Election Law § 6-134 (2), which requires the “[s]heets of a designating petition shall be delivered to the board of elections in the manner prescribed by regulations that shall be promulgated by the state board of elections.” Pursuant to the mandate of Election Law § 6-134 (2), the Rules of the Board of Elections in the City of New York (BOE) provides that a “cover sheet must be filed for all petitions containing ten or more sheets in one volume or consisting of more than one volume” (BOE Rules C.1; see also 9 NYCRR § 6215.1 [b]; id. § 6215.1 [e] [3]). Further, pursuant to Election Law § 6-146 (1), “if designated or nominated for a public office other than a judicial office by a party of which [they are] not a duly enrolled member . . . such person shall, in a certificate signed and acknowledged by [them], and filed as provided in this article, accept the designation or nomination as a candidate of each -3-