Susan Arbetter is reporting for State of Politics the Green and Libertarian parties have taken legal action against the state of New York in federal court, alleging the new voter and petitioning provisions passed in the 2020-21 state budget are onerous. In the past, to achieve ballot status, minor parties needed to earn 50,000 votes for their gubernatorial candidates to qualify for the ballot every four years. The rules have been in place for decades. Under the new rules minor parties are required to earn 130,000 votes or two percent of the votes cast. Additionally, the qualification is required every two years, instead of four. The New York Times reported last year that Jay Jacobs, chairman of the New York State Democratic Party, came up with the idea, originally proposing the number of votes that a political party needs to guarantee a spot on the ballot be quadrupled, from 50,000 votes to 250,000. Jacobs said the proposal was aimed at reducing voter confusion and rooting out corruption. The Working Families Party scoffed at the explanation, arguing that the proposal was an effort by Governor Andrew Cuomo to shut down the more progressive wing of the Democratic party. The federal lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York to invalidate the new provisions. According to a press release, the complaint “alleges infringement upon First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to organize, identify, and vote for minor parties under the United States Constitution, and that the new voter and petitioning requirements are therefore unconstitutional.” Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.