Valenti v. Bugbee

Summary

The New York Appellate Division, Third Department, invalidated Jack B. Cox Jr.’s independent nominating petition for mayor of Troy because he knowingly signed witness statements falsely attesting that signatures were made in his presence. The court held that candidate participation in petition-signature fraud warrants invalidation even when the petition contains enough otherwise valid signatures.

Holdings

1. An independent nominating petition may be invalidated when the candidate participated in, or can be charged with knowledge of, fraudulent activity in procuring signatures, even if the petition contains a sufficient number of valid signatures independent of the fraudulent signatures.
2. Petitioners established fraud by clear and convincing evidence.
3. No deference to a credibility determination was required because the hearing testimony was not conflicting.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an independent nominating petition may be invalidated when the candidate participated in or knowingly certified fraudulent signature-gathering activity, even if the petition contains enough otherwise valid signatures.
2. Whether petitioners established fraud by clear and convincing evidence.
3. Whether the absence of conflicting hearing testimony required deference to the trial court's credibility determinations.

Disposition

reversed