“Technical Irregularities” Did Not Preclude Allowing Opportunity to Ballot

The Third Department applied the concept of “technical irregularities” to signatures rendered invalid by problems with two subscribing witnesses.  In spite of the invalidation of the signatures, because there was no fraud and no indication the voters were not entitled to sign the petition, the opportunity to ballot was properly allowed:

The record establishes that one of the subscribing witnesses, a commissioner of deeds, failed to inform any of “the signers that, by signing the petition, they affirmed the truth of the matter to which they subscribed” … . While the signatures collected by him were rendered invalid as a result, under the circumstances presented here his failure constituted nothing more than a “technical irregularity”… .The second subscribing witness, Horan, mistakenly executed the statement intended for a notary public or commissioner of deeds rather than that meant for party members.  While Horan is in fact a notary public, he did not identify himself as such in the witness statement (see Election Law § 6-132…).  The signatures that Horan witnessed were rendered invalid as a result, but his failure to indicate his position was a technical defect that did “not call into serious question the existence of adequate support among eligible voters” … .  Absent any indication that fraud was involved or that the voters who signed the invalid pages were not entitled to sign the petition, Supreme Court properly directed an opportunity to ballot for the offices… .  Matter of Hall v Dussault…, 517199, 3rd Dept 8-15-13