BOE findings put Bunkeddeko’s ballot position in jeopardy

State comptroller candidate Adem Bunkeddeko will need to fight for his life to remain on the ballot after a preliminary staff report from the state Board of Elections found he did not have enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the Democratic primary ballot. 

According to the initial staff findings from the BOE, over 11,000 of the 22,000 petition signatures that Bunkeddeko submitted were invalid. If that finding stands, he would be left with a little under 11,000 valid signatures remaining – well below the 15,000 required to appear on the ballot. 

The information from the BOE is strictly preliminary, and Bunkeddeko will have a chance to plead his case at a hearing on Monday. The numbers are subject to change based on the hearing and responses submitted beforehand, with a formal staff recommendation made to the board afterwards. The BOE commissioners will make a final determination at their next meeting on Tuesday on who will and won’t make it onto the June primary ballot. 

The Bunkeddeko campaign expressed confidence that he will remain on the ballot following the Monday hearing. 

The initial findings from the BOE staff came after fellow candidate Drew Warshaw’s campaign objected to tens of thousands of petition signatures from both Bunkeddeko and Raj Goyle, another Democrat running for state comptroller. The preliminary report found that Goyle submitted enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot, but just barely. The review determined that 15,000 of the over 31,000 signatures from Goyle were invalid, leaving him with just over 16,000 valid signatures. He will also have the opportunity to be heard at the BOE hearing next week.

The Democratic primary race for state comptroller, typically a noncontest, has quickly emerged as one of the most contentious of the cycle. All three Democratic challengers this year are seeking to unseat long-time state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli in his first-ever primary challenge since getting elected. DiNapoli has held the position for nearly two decades after members of the Assembly initially tapped him to fill it in 2007. 

Goyle’s campaign celebrated the findings as a sign of support from thousands of New Yorkers who wanted him on the ballot, while criticizing Warshaw’s campaign for engaging in “backroom tactics” to limit voters’ choices. “Let’s be clear: their objections were baseless, frivolous, and a blatant attempt to silence candidates and voters of color across New York,” campaign manager David Alejandro Quesada said in a statement. “It was a desperate move from a campaign that knows it can’t win on ideas or momentum.” 

The Warshaw campaign, meanwhile, lauded the preliminary staff reports as evidence its objections were sound. “The ballot should be open to anyone who follows the rules,” campaign attorney Leo Glickman said in a statement. “Candidates, especially for State Comptroller, should be expected to file petitions that comply with the basic standards of the well-worn law.” Glickman added that given the Goyle campaign’s “high failure rate,” attorneys for Warshaw would review all the findings ahead of the Monday hearing to ensure everyone on the ballot “has actually met the law’s minimum requirements.”