Three-way race for 25th Congressional District?
News10Now
Bill Carey
September 12th, 2008
http://news10now.com/default.aspx?ArID=123885
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- He doesn't have the funds or the manpower that the major parties have and it takes more signatures to win an independent line on the ballot, but Green Party activist Howie Hawkins is determined to run for Congress and filed petitions to do just that.
It wasn't long after Hawkins filed those petitions that the democrats filed their objections. And there were plenty of them. Thousands of them.
"We turned in 6,298 signatures. They objected, in terms of individual signatures, to 3,136," said Hawkins.
Hawkins has done his own review of the petitions and he and his lawyers are arguing to the State Board of Elections that the objections don't hold up to close scrutiny. Hawkins says even more disturbing is the pattern of objections that claimed voters were not enrolled.
"If somebody had an Arabic name, an Asian name, a Latino name or an obviously African American name, it looks like they didn't do the research, they just objected in a lot of cases," said Hawkins.
Dustin Czarny, 17th Ward Chair of the Onondaga County Democratic Party, says that accusation is ridiculous.
"The petitions were reviewed and the objections were made solely on the basis of non-compliance with NY law and regulations with the NYS Board of objection. Any other accusation is simply inaccurate. I now await the ruling form NYS Board of elections," said Czarny.
Hawkins says if he can hold on to his position, he can finally focus on getting his campaign in gear. Something he says has been sidetracked by the democratic case.
The State Board of Elections will rule on the case, but either side can challenge that ruling in court.
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