NY-Lt. Gov. - Brian Benjamin Might Not Be on the N.Y. Ballot After All

Source: New York Times

Brian Benjamin Might Not Be on the N.Y. Ballot After All

Lawmakers are expected to pass legislation that would allow individuals who have been arrested or indicted to be removed from state ballots.

By Grace Ashford
May 2, 2022
Updated 4:02 p.m. ET

ALBANY, N.Y. — State lawmakers are expected on Monday to carve out a legal path for the former lieutenant governor, Brian A. Benjamin, who resigned after being indicted on federal bribery charges, to be removed from the primary ballot.

The move is widely regarded as an acquiescence to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who had publicly appealed to Democratic leaders of the Assembly and Senate to change the law, after other efforts to remove Mr. Benjamin from the ballot had stalled.

Under the old law, candidates who had formally accepted a party’s nomination could not be taken off the ballot unless they died, moved out of state or were nominated to another office. People who have been convicted of felonies are eligible to run for and hold public office under New York law, though a politician convicted of a felony while in office will be removed, according to the state Board of Elections.

If Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, had been unsuccessful in changing the law, she would probably have faced the awkward scenario of running in November with a running mate who had been the designated No. 2 of one of her Democratic primary opponents.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/02/nyregion/brian-benjamin-ballot-removal.html

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