Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics the New York State Assembly February 9, approved two bills intended to adjust the petitioning process for access to the ballot amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Petitioning under normal circumstances requires close contact with registered voters, and candidates now face the prospect of being face to face with them to collect signatures. One bill would reduce the number of signatures required for an independent nominatiing petition to 50 percent for elections held in 2021. That measure would expire at the end of December. A second bill would eliminate the option to file an opportunity to ballot petition for the June 2021 primary in order to avoid unnecessary petitioning as well as the need for local elections officials in the state to hold a primary, including nine days of early voting, for a primary with only one candidate. Speaker Carl Heastie said, “These bills will help make it safer for candidates, those conducting elections and for the people of New York to participate in the democratic process. The Assembly Majority will keep working to ensure our election laws allow New Yorkers to fully and safely participate in the electoral process.” Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.