Eight Parties Qualify for Ballot Lines in New York State

The results from yesterday’s governor’s race in New York were never really in doubt, incumbent Democrat Andrew Cuomo seemed like a lock from the very start.  The big question was how well would some of the state’s minor parties fare?  Today, we think we have the answer.

New York’s fusion system allows parties to cross-endorse candidates, a common practice in the state for many years.  The Conservative and Working Families Party occasionally run their own nominees, but more often than not they cross endorse the Republican and Democratic candidates, respectively.

In order to remain qualified, a party must poll at least 50,000 votes on their ballot line in the governor’s race.  This year, the major parties worked to organize two “puppet parties” that exist on paper only to support their own candidates.  The Women’s Equality Party and Stop Common Core party appear to have just barely qualified for a continued line.  They are currently just short of 50,000 votes, but it is assumed enough support will trickle in over the next day or two to put them over the line.

The Green Party’s Howie Hawkins greatly improved on his 2010 showing and easily secured another 4 years of ballot access for the Green Party.

Ballot lines are organized by the number of votes their gubernatorial candidate received.

Here are the not quite complete results for the parties that appear to have met the 50,000 vote test, from the New York Board of Elections…

1. Cuomo (DEMOCRAT) – 1,617,172 votes
2. Astorino (REPUBLICAN) – 1,106,656 votes
3. Astorino (CONSERVATIVE) – 213,989 votes
4. Hawkins (GREEN) – 167,414 votes
5. Cuomo (WORKING FAMILIES) – 114,328 votes
6. Cuomo (INDEPENDENCE) – 65,183 votes
7. Cuomo (WOMEN’S EQUALITY) – 49,521 votes
8. Astorino (STOP COMMON CORE) – 46,110 votes

Libertarian nominee Mike McDermott captured only about 14,000 votes, putting the party far short of where it was in 2010 and failing to secure a ballot line.