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Parent Party Motion To Intervene 5.16.22
Parent Party Motion To Intervene 5.16.22
E2022-0116CV
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 545 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/16/2022
Date: May 16, 2022 Counsel for the Parent Party Intervenors
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................................................2
CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................13
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The Parent Party of New York, Patrick Donohue, William Noel, Brian Robinson, Danyela
Souza Egorov, Kevin Pazmino, Pooi Stewart, Otis D. Danne Jr., and Gavin Wax (collectively, the
“Parent Party Intervenors”) respectfully submit this Memorandum in support of their request to
intervene and in support of their additional cause of action requesting modifications to the
independent nominating petition process that was set forth in the Court’s May 11 Order (NYSCEF
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
In this Motion to Intervene, the Parent Party Intervenors seek several modifications to the
Court’s May 11 Ballot Access Order, including but not limited to (a) applying the Court’s new
calendar for the independent nominating process to all public offices; (b) allowing signatures
gathered on or after April 19 to be counted as valid (if otherwise valid); and (c) reducing the
These modifications would vindicate the Parent Party Intervenors’ right to associate with
the political party of one’s choice pursuant to the United States Constitution. Tashjian v.
Republican Party of Conn., 479 U.S. 208, 214 (1986) (internal quotation omitted) (concluding that
“[t]he right to associate with the political party of one’s choice is an integral part of this basic
constitutional freedom [of association]”). The proposed modifications would allow the Parent
Party’s endorsed candidates a fair opportunity to circulate independent nominating petitions to get
on the ballot, in what has been an election cycle filled with uncertainty given the ongoing
There are no timeliness concerns with respect to this motion to intervene. The Parent Party
Intervenors appear now, just days after the Court entered the Ballot Access Order, an order which
the court issued less than several hours after counsel to Respondent New York State Board of
Elections proposed it, without explanation or any prior briefing. Compare NYSCEF No. 523 with
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NYSCEF No. 524. Furthermore, no one will be harmed by the relief the Parent Party Intervenors
seek, given that relief requested impacts only the independent nominating petition process and the
The intervenors are the Parent Party of New York, affiliated individuals, and candidates
endorsed by the Parent Party. The Parent Party is a new political party which is seeking to get
candidates on the ballot by virtue of slate petitioning—a practice commonly used whereby
candidates team up to gather petitions together. The Ballot Access Order has made it virtually
impossible for the Parent Party of New York, and its candidates, to put together slates of candidates
so as to get them on the ballot and effectively organize this election cycle.
ARGUMENT
The Constitutional rights of the Parent Party Intervenors, who are attempting to organize a
new political party and select and elect candidates to office, would be violated under the current
independent nominating petition rules that have been set forth by the Court. Price v. New York
State Bd. of Elections, 540 F.3d 101, 107-08 (2d Cir. 2008) (noting that where a challenged
regulation “governs the registration and qualification of voters, the selection and eligibility of
candidates, or the voting process itself, [it] inevitably affects—at least to some degree—the
individual’s right to vote and his right to associate with others for political ends.”) (quoting
Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780, 788 (1983) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
A. The Parent Party Intervenors are Candidates and Organizers who are Seeking
To Build a Political Party
The Parent Party of New York is a new political party in New York State. Affidavit of
Patrick Donohue (“Donohue Aff.”) ¶ 3. The Parent Party’s mission is to empower parents to take
back control of their child’s education, empower citizens to take back control of our democracy,
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and support local law enforcement to take back control of our streets. Donohue Aff. ¶ 4.
Intervenor Patrick Donohue is the Founder and Chairman of the Parent Party of New York (the
“Parent Party”), and Intervenor William Noel is the Chief of Staff of the Parent Party. Donohue
Five of the petitioners in connection with this Motion to Intervene are candidates for office
who intend to secure the Parent Party third-party ballot line in the November 8, 2022 General
Election. All five of these candidates have been endorsed by the Parent Party and intend to
circulate independent nominating petitions, but the redistricting process and the ongoing litigation
has interfered with their ability to do so. Brian Robinson and Danyela Souza Egorov are candidates
for Congress and State Senate, respectively, and have already qualified to appear on the ballot in
the upcoming Democratic primary scheduled for August 23, 2022. Affidavit of Brian Robinson
¶ 3; Affidavit of Danyela Souza Egorov ¶ 2. Kevin Pazmino and Pooi Stewart are both candidates
for State Assembly; Pooi Stewart has qualified to appear on the ballot in the upcoming Democratic
primary scheduled for June 28, 2022, and Kevin Pazmino has qualified to be the Conservative
Party nominee in the November 8, 2022 General Election. Affidavit of Pooi Stewart ¶ 2; Affidavit
of Kevin Pazmino ¶ 2.
Intervenor Otis Danne is a candidate for State Assembly and is uniquely situated given that
he attempted to qualify as a candidate in the Democratic primary but was removed from the ballot
by the New York City Board of Elections. Affidavit of Otis Danne ¶ 6. Accordingly, if he does
not successfully secure the Parent Party line or any other third-party line, he will not make the
ballot at all, which would mean that none of his supporters in his Assembly District would be able
to vote for him at all this election cycle. Id. ¶ 7. In addition to the Parent Party’s current candidates,
other potential candidates may decide to run on the Parent Party line once districts are finalized (a
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determination they could have not made previously, given the ongoing uncertainty concerning the
district maps).
Intervenor Gavin Wax is a registered voter who supports the ability of third parties to
organize in the State of New York, given that he believes our “polarized, tribal political culture is
broken.” Affidavit of Gavin Wax (“Wax Aff.”) ¶ 2. Mr. Wax supports the Parent Party and agrees
with several key issues advanced by the Parent Party, including school choice and standing in
opposition to “Defund the Police” efforts. Id. ¶ 3. Mr. Wax seeks to intervene as a voter and
B. The Parent Party’s Efforts to Build a Political Party and Promote Candidates
During the 2022 Election Cycle
The Parent Party has been focused on the 2022 election cycle in which various elections
are scheduled to be held. Those elections include Statewide offices, such as Governor, Lieutenant
Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller. In addition, elections for U.S. Senate, Congress,
State Senate, State Assembly, and local offices are scheduled to be held in New York this year.
Donohue Aff. ¶ 5. For the 2022 election cycle in New York, one aim of the Parent Party is to
recruit suitable candidates, get them on the ballot, and work with their campaigns with the goal of
The Parent Party has endorsed a wide array of candidates running for Statewide offices, State
Senate, State Assembly, and Congress. Id. ¶ 7; see also Media Advisories available at
One of the goals of the Parent Party is to become an official ballot access party in New
York State, which would enable it to be deemed a “party” under the New York State Election Law.
Id. ¶ 8. Currently, there are four ballot access parties in New York State: (1) the Democratic party;
(2) the Republican party; (3) the Conservative party; and (4) the Working Families party. If the
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Parent Party were to become a ballot access party, it would secure a number of benefits, including:
(a) being able to form an official party apparatus and further build its fundraising operation;
(b) allowing individuals, when they register to vote, to officially enroll in the Parent Party; and
(c) allowing individuals to run as a Parent Party candidate as part of the designating petition
process. In other words, becoming a ballot access party will increase the standing of the Parent
Party and enhance its ability to elect qualified candidates into office. Id. ¶ 9.
In order to become a ballot access party in the State of New York, the Parent Party needs
to obtain “excluding blank and void ballots . . . at least two percent of the total votes cast for its
candidate for governor, or one hundred thirty thousand votes, whichever is greater, in the year in
which a governor is elected . . .” N.Y. Elec. Law § 1-104(3). As was recently reported by the New
York Post, the Parent Party of New York has endorsed Lee Zeldin for Governor. See New York
Post, Parent Party Endorses Lee Zeldin, GOP Candidates for Top Statewide Offices, May 14,
candidates-for-top-statewide-offices/.1 Given that Lee Zeldin will be the Parent Party candidate
for governor, the Parent Party and its supporters will circulate independent nominating petitions
that will nominate him to be on the ballot on the Parent Party line in the November 8, 2022 General
C. The Redistricting Litigation and the Court’s May 11 Ballot Access Order Are
Interfering with the Parent Party’s Petitioning Efforts
The Parent Party has always intended to use “slate petitions” to get its candidates on the
ballot. When slate petitions are used, not only would Lee Zeldin’s name typically appear on a
1
Lee Zeldin is also (a) a candidate for governor in the Republican Primary Election
currently scheduled to be held on June 28, 2022; and (b) the Conservative Party’s candidate for
governor in the General Election scheduled on November 8, 2022. Donohue Aff. ¶ 11.
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petition, but also, the names of the other statewide candidates would appear along with, when
applicable, selected Parent Party candidates running for (a) Representative in Congress; (b) State
Senate; (c) State Assembly; and (d) candidates running for local office. By utilizing this slate
petitioning strategy—which is also used by both major political parties—the signatures gathered
count for all of the candidates on each petition sheet, thus allowing the candidates to work with
each other and make the process of gathering signatures a synergistic one. Id. ¶ 13.
The entire redistricting process and the ongoing litigation has interfered with the Parent
Party’s ability to form petition slates and gather signatures on slate petitions, which contravenes
their constitutional right of association. As the Second Circuit has recognized, circulating petitions
“clearly constitute[s] core political speech,” because it “of necessity involves both the expression
of a desire for political change and a discussion of the merits of the proposed change.” Lerman v.
Bd. of Elections in City of New York, 232 F.3d 135, 146 (2d Cir. 2000).
The redistricting process and several provisions in the Ballot Access Order are interfering
with the Parent Party’s attempt to (a) get Parent Party candidates to get on the ballot and (b) qualify
the Parent Party as a ballot access party in the State of New York. Significant uncertainty has
existed in connection with the petitioning process since this action was initiated on February 3,
2022, and particularly after this Court’s March 31, 2022 Decision and Order striking down the
Congressional map, State Senate map, and State Assembly map, and the subsequent appeals and
According to the New York State Board of Elections Political Calendar, the independent
nominating petition process was originally due to start on April 19, 2022. See
2022). However, as of April 19, the Congressional map, State Senate map, and State Assembly
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map were all in question, thus leaving few, if any, of the Parent Party candidates with clear
guidance as to whether to begin petitioning then. Statewide candidates, such as Mr. Zeldin, need
to obtain signatures by Congressional district (in addition to gathering a certain total number of
signatures). Thus, it did not make sense for statewide candidates to start then, particularly when
many of their “boots on the ground” to gather signatures—e.g., candidates for Congress, State
Senate, State Assembly—could not feasibly start slate petitioning at that time (given that their
district lines were unknown) and since it was not clear if any signatures gathered by anyone,
Additional uncertainty followed the Appellate Division’s decision on April 21, 2022 and
the Court of Appeals’ decision on April 27, 2022. The eyes of the political world then focused on
both this Court and the Board of Elections for guidance as to the future of all petitioning, including
independent nominating petitions—even while motions to intervene were pending before this
Court concerning the constitutionality of the State Assembly map. Id. ¶ 17.
While the various appeals and other motions to intervene were pending in late-April and
during the first two weeks of May, the Board of Elections provided no official guidance as to what
candidates should do, including with respect to those candidates and political parties, such as the
Parent Party Intervenors, who were contemplating circulating independent nominating petitions.
As the Chief of Staff of the Parent Party, William Noel, states in his affidavit, he sought guidance
at the New York State Board of Elections’ office in Albany on May 3, 2022 concerning the
independent nominating petition process. Noel Aff. ¶ 5. After asking three different individuals
for guidance, they informed him that they did not know what the process would be for independent
nominating petitions and stated that it is up to the courts. They further informed him that they
were waiting for the courts to create a political calendar for the independent nominating petition
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process. Id. Based on the lack of guidance provided by the State Board of Elections, along with
the continuing uncertainties relating to the redistricting litigation, the Chief of Staff did not know
if the Parent Party should start the independent nominating petition process and if it did, whether
The first potential guidance received by interested parties was from this Court in its May
5, 2022 Advisory Opinion (NYSCEF Doc. No. 409), and that Advisory Opinion commented on
only the independent nominating petition process for statewide candidates. Donohue Aff. ¶ 18. It
was only when the Court issued its ballot access order on May 11, 2022 (NYSCEF Doc. No. 524)
(the “Ballot Access Order”) that candidates for office and political advocates (including members
and candidates affiliated with the Parent Party) began to have some guidance as to the future of
the independent nominating petitioning process. This, again, is crucial to the Parent Party, because
the independent nominating petition process is precisely how Parent Party candidates will get on
the ballot, and the path through which the Parent Party can become a ballot access party in the
Statewide and State Assembly candidates must (apparently) circulate independent nominating
petitions pursuant to the Board of Elections’ Political Calendar, but yet, Congressional and State
Senate candidates are not required—or even allowed—to start circulating such petitions until May
21. Among other issues, given these bifurcated petitioning schedules, as the Ballot Access Order
is now written, it is nearly impossible for Lee Zeldin and the other Statewide candidates to
effectively slate petition with other candidates. In addition, State Senate and Congressional
candidates are similarly unable to form independent nominating petition slates with any Statewide
or State Assembly candidates because of the differing petition schedules (and vice-versa). Indeed,
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it is highly unusual that Congressional and State Senate candidates are given more time than other
candidates to circulate independent nominating petitions when the relevant General Election date
local candidates to file their independent nominating petitions by May 31 pursuant to the political
calendar, when there was—and, indeed, still is—so much uncertainty concerning the petitioning
and redistricting processes. In addition, only now is there some reasonable certainty concerning
the parameters of the Assembly Map, given that this Court ruled on an unrelated Motion to
Intervene on this question on May 11, 2022. See, e.g., Decision and Order, NYSCEF No. 520.
Statewide candidates such as Lee Zeldin are also further harmed because in addition to
garnering a certain number of total signatures, they also must gather signatures by Congressional
District. N.Y. Election Law § 6-142. Those Congressional Districts, of course, do not yet exist,
and will not exist until those districts are finalized by this Court on May 20—and even then, the
district lines will be subject to an appeal or further challenges. Accordingly, even in the best-case
scenario, statewide candidates will have only eleven days from when the congressional lines are
supposed to be issued to ensure that they have met the Election Law’s requirement of gathering
will have updated voter rolls by the May 31 deadline, thus rendering it highly difficult for
campaigns to cross-reference the many thousands of signatures gathered to ensure compliance with
The Parent Party Intervenors brought their Motion to Intervene just days after the Court
issued the Ballot Access Order. They could not have proceeded sooner, since the Ballot Access
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Order was issued without any prior briefing or warning, and only hours after the New York State
Board of Elections posted it to the docket, without explanation. Compare NYSCEF No. 523 with
Furthermore, there are no timing issues with respect to the relief requested, and no one will
be harmed. The only changes that the Parent Party Intervenors request pertain to the November 8,
2022 General Election. In other words, the Parent Party Intervenors are not asking the Court to
change anything concerning the scheduled June 28 and August 23 primaries. Accordingly, this
motion to intervene does not seek to change anything concerning the designating petition process
The relief requested, which would allow all candidates to circulate independent nominating
petitions pursuant to the Court’s schedule set forth in the May 11 Ballot Access Order, would
simply give candidates more time to circulate petitions without resulting in harm or injury to
anyone.2 The New York State Board of Elections, and local boards of elections, will have plenty
of time to finalize the ballot for the November 8, 2022 General Election. In fact, the independent
nominating petition process has historically taken place much later in the year. For example, in
2017—when, incidentally, Aaron Foldenauer, counsel to the Parent Party Intervenors, ran for New
York City Council and sought and obtained a third-party line—the process for gathering signatures
for independent nominating petitions did not even begin until July 11. See New York State Board
2
In addition to vindicating the Parent Party Intervenors’ Right of Association, it would also benefit
other individuals and smaller political parties, such as the Libertarian Party Intervenors, who have
long sought fair access to the ballot. See, e.g., Press Release, Unite NY Calls for Changes to Ballot
Access Requirements to Give Voters A Greater Voice (Apr. 28, 2022), available at
https://uniteny.org/unite-ny-calls-for-changes-to-ballot-access-requirements-to-give-voters-a-
greater-voice/; Press Release, Green Party, Suppressing Ballot Access is a Violation of Voting
Rights (May 12, 2022), available at
https://www.gp.org/suppressing_ballot_access_is_a_violation_of_voting_rights.
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2022). The last day to gather signatures for independent nominating petitions in 2017 was August
22. Id. At that time, there was no suggestion that August 22 as the final signature-gathering date
for independent nominating petitions was in any way “too late” to finalize the ballot for the
November General Election. Here, the Court has scheduled petitioning for independent
nominations to conclude well before then—July 5—which allows for approximately six weeks of
additional lead time compared to the timing for the very same independent nominating petitioning
III. THE COURT SHOULD ALLOW SIGNATURES OBTAINED ON APRIL 19, 2022
OR THEREAFTER TO BE COUNTED.
2022. New York State Board of Elections 2022 Political Calendar, available at
2022). As described above, the Parent Party Intervenors have not been able to start petitioning
until recently, given the various uncertainties posed by the redistricting process and the ongoing
litigation. However, so that no candidate who started on April 19 will be prejudiced, the Court
should modify the Ballot Access Order to indicate that any independent nominating petitions
gathered starting on April 19 should be considered valid (if the signatures are otherwise valid).
This would constitute only a minor modification to the Court’s Ballot Access Order, which
currently would invalidate any signatures gathered before May 21, 2022 for the independent
nominating petitions that are subject to the Court’s schedule. See Ballot Access Order at 4.
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The Parent Party Intervenors agree with the Libertarian Party Intervenors (see Motion No.
14) that the signature requirements set forth in the Election Law should be reduced, given the
ongoing chaos caused by the redistricting process and the resurging COVID-19 pandemic.
Signature requirements for independent nominating petitioning have been substantially reduced
over the course of the past two years, and there was no reported harm to the political process.
Compare N.Y. Elec. Law § 6-142 (provisions effective until Dec. 31, 2021) with N.Y. Elec. Law
§ 6-142 (provisions currently in effect). Furthermore, and unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic
is not over and is now resurging. Just today, the New York City Health Department issued a strong
recommendation to wear high-quality masks in public, indoor settings, given that case numbers
are rising.3
Other indicia of the continuing ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic are evident in
this very court: Rules governing the Courtroom in Steuben County Supreme Court require all
The Parent Party Intervenors request that the number of signatures required for independent
nominating petitions for each public office, as set forth in New York Election Law Section 6-142,
be reduced by 50%. These lowered requirements would make the petitioning process safer and
reduce the amount of paperwork that needs to be processed by the New York State Board of
3
See
https://twitter.com/nycHealthy/status/1526219171549401088?s=20&t=QoGIZxkIvLbmEMes_9
8_9A (last visited May 16, 2022).
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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Parent Party Intervenors request that the Court make the
following modifications to its Ballot Access Order to vindicate the Parent Party Intervenors’
a) apply the Court’s schedule for Independent Nominating Petitions listed on page 4
of the Ballot Access Order to all candidates for public office, namely: Statewide,
Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and local offices for the November 8,
c) reduce the signature requirements set forth in New York Election Law § 6-142 for
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