Tuesday is Election Day. Voters in New York's 124th District will choose a candidate to represent them in the state Assembly.
WSKG published a Voter Guide this election season with a Q&A from the candidates in the race for the district. This week, WSKG learned that a write-in candidate may not be eligible to serve in the state assembly. WSKG’s Elmira-Corning reporter Natalie Abruzzo spoke with News Director Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo.
*You can find WSKG’s Q&A with answers from candidates in the race for New York’s 124th Assembly District here.
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Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo: Natalie, first, what happened here, how did we get here?
Natalie Abruzzo: So I received an email earlier this week from the 124th Assembly District Democratic Party candidate, Andy Fagan, about a write-in candidate, Miriam Osorio, who's also in the race for that district, and he said that she is not a resident of that district.
Osorio initially petitioned to be the Democratic Party nominee and would've faced Andy Fagan in the primaries.
According to the New York State Board of Elections, Osorio's bid to be on the ballot was invalidated because she submitted her petitions too late.
When I FOILed the State Board of Elections for more information, they provided Osorio's voter data and voter history, which lists her residents in the 132nd Assembly District.
PTV: What are the state's rules around residency for a position like this?
The New York State Board of Elections says the requirement to serve in state legislative office is that any candidate, even a write-in candidate, must be a resident of the state for at least five years prior to running for office and be a resident of the district at least 12 months prior to the election.
PTV: So what does Osorio say about all of this?
Osorio confirmed to WSKG that her current place of residence that's on file with both the State Board of Elections and the Chemung County Board of Elections for this election cycle is correct. She claims to "fully meet the legal residency qualifications to run for the 124th Assembly District." And she says that's based on her interactions with the Chemung County Board of Elections.
PTV: And you talked to the county board of elections. What did they say about this?
NA: The Chemung County Board of Elections Republican Commissioner Sperry Navone says it's not within their purview to turn any potential candidate away.
“As far as we're concerned, if somebody wants to run for office, that is their choice. We will provide them with the tools, i.e. Voting list, walking list, whatever it is they're looking for, and it is up to the candidate to know whether they're eligible to run for the office that they're seeking.”
Additionally, Phoebe, the local board of elections has a portion of its website dedicated to people who are running for office, and that includes processes, links to the state board of elections, and what its role is in assisting prospective candidates on how to prepare for and understand the petitioning process.
PTV: So, WSKG's newsroom had published an article as part of our voter guide with Q&As from candidates in this race, including Osorio. Let's talk for a minute about what we decided to do about this information.
NA: Phoebe, we ultimately decided to keep Osorio's questionnaire intact on the WSKG voter guide for the 124th Assembly District, but we are including context about residency requirements and what we know from the state and county agencies about Osorio's registered residents.
It is important to note that WSKG is here to provide information for the public to make choices in their lives for themselves. We cannot interfere in candidate campaigns nor selection.
This conversation right now between you and I, Phoebe, will ultimately be included in the voter guide and be available for listeners to play back or download. We reached out for a comment about our decision to both Osorio and Fagan and did not hear back in time for broadcast.
PTV: You can find the Q&A for the 124th Assembly District and WSKG's voter guide at wskg.org/elections. Election day is Tuesday. Early voting runs through November 1st.