PRINTED NAMES ARE NOT THE EQUIVALENT OF SIGNATURES, CERTIFICATES OF SUBSTITUTION DEEMED INVALID (THIRD DEPT).
The Third Department determined the certificates of substitution designating candidates in a primary election were invalid. The problem was with the section which begins “We, the undersigned, hereby affirm that we constituted a majority of the vacancy committee referred to in the above certificate and that the statements in such certificate are true.” “Below this statement, the majority of the Committee members were required to sign their names before a notary public, but their names were instead printed … , followed by the signature and stamp of the notary public next to the jurat:”
The printed names of the Committee members here were not the equivalent of signatures establishing that they were attesting to the truth of the information contained in the certificates or that they constituted a majority of the Committee. Such deficiency was not a mere error in form … ; indeed, its practical effect was as though the affidavit explicitly required by statute was never filed. Moreover, the deficiency was not cured by the other sections of the certificates because even though the members’ signatures appeared in the first section, their signatures were not notarized and they did not attest to the accuracy of the information contained therein or represent that they constituted a majority of the Committee … . Notwithstanding respondents’ contention that the preprinted form provided by the Board is confusing, this does not relieve the Committee of its obligation to comply with the statutory requirements … . Accordingly, we conclude that Supreme Court properly invalidated the certificates of substitution for failure to comply with the requirements of Election Law § 6-148 (4). Matter of Harder v Kuhn, 2017 NY Slip Op 06338, Third Dept 8-23-17
ELECTION LAW (PRINTED NAMES ARE NOT THE EQUIVALENT OF SIGNATURES, CERTIFICATES OF SUBSTITUTION DEEMED INVALID (THIRD DEPT))/SIGNATURES (ELECTION LAW, PRINTED NAMES ARE NOT THE EQUIVALENT OF SIGNATURES, CERTIFICATES OF SUBSTITUTION DEEMED INVALID (THIRD DEPT))/CERTIFICATES OF SUBSTITUTION (ELECTION LAW, PRINTED NAMES ARE NOT THE EQUIVALENT OF SIGNATURES, CERTIFICATES OF SUBSTITUTION DEEMED INVALID (THIRD DEPT))