John Quirk missed it by that much. The Libertarian candidate was initially set to be on the ballot for the Nassau County Legislature, but a judge found that his petitions came up short by one signature.
Quirk is shown to the right with Gary Donoyan, an accomplished New York election lawyer and litigator. Nassau Supreme Court Judge Arthur Diamond ruled that Quirk had 1105 valid signatures, one short of the 1106 needed. IPR spoke with Donoyan today. They are considering an appeal on the issue of whether Judge Diamond used the incorrect standard for determining signatures were fraudulent. IPR will update if we learn more.
Boo!
Unfortunately, Appellate Division affirmed.
Quirk off the ballot as Nassau County Judge held he had 1105 valid signatures and needed 1106.
Most of the argument centered on allegations of forgery because some people’s signatures did not match those on file at BOE when they signed their voter registration cards years ago. Not too incredibly, Republican Judges believe that people who are rushed when they sign petitions on LIRR train platforms at 6:30 am in a slightly different manner than a form from years or decades ago are committing fraud.
Decision expected today or tomorrow.
Appeal has been filed and will be argued Monday morning, October 7, in the NYS Appellate Division, Second Department (45 Monroe Place, Brooklyn) at 10:00 am.