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Fact that Notary Public Did Not Administer an Oath to the Signatories on the Designating Petition Did Not Invalidate the Petition

The Third Department determined the signatures on the candidate-designating petition were valid, despite the respondent’s, Sira’s, admission that no oath was administered to the signatories which Sira signed as a notary public. The court noted that, under the Election Law, Sira could have merely witnessed the signatures, without signing as a notary public. Because there was no evidence the signatures were fraudulent in any way, the petition was deemed valid:

“A designating petition will be invalidated if the challenger shows, by clear and convincing evidence, that the entire petition is permeated with fraud or that the candidate participated in, or can be charged with knowledge of, fraudulent activity” … . Here, although Sira herself attested to 307 signatures on her designating petition as a notary public, which included an affirmation that the signatories had sworn that their statements were true, she admitted at the hearing that she had not administered an oath to the signatories or obtained a statement as to the truth of the matter to which they subscribed as required by Election Law § 6-132 (3) … . Sira concedes that those 307 signatures are therefore invalid. However, we are unconvinced that Sira’s actions amounted to fraud warranting invalidation of the entire designating petition. Notably, as a registered member of the Republican Party living in Fulton County, Sira was not required to attest to the signatures on her petition as a notary public; rather, Sira could have attested as a witness to the signatures, requiring only an affirmation that the signatories identified themselves as the individuals who signed the petition and that they signed the petition in the presence of the witness (see Election Law § 6-132 [2]). Significantly, there is no evidence that Sira did not witness the signatures she attested to or that the signatures were not authentic. Thus, in our view, it has not been established by clear and convincing evidence that, under these circumstances, invalidation of Sira’s entire designating petition is warranted on this basis… . Matter of Vincent v Sira, 2015 NY Slip Op 06636, 3rd Dept 8-20-15

 

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