§ 2608 — Nomination and ballot

§ 2608. Nomination and ballot. 1. Candidates for members of the board\nof education in a city school district shall be nominated by petition\ndirected to the board of education and signed by at least one hundred\npersons qualified to vote at school elections in such district. Such\npetition shall contain the names and residences of the candidates for\nthe vacancies in the board of education to be filled at the annual\nelection. Where a proposition has been adopted by the voters of such\ndistrict to require that each vacancy on the board of education to be\nfilled shall be considered a separate specific office, a separate\npetition shall be required to nominate a candidate to each separate\noffice and such petition shall describe the specific vacancy on the\nboard of education for which the candidate is nominated, which\ndescription shall include at least the length of the term of office and\nthe name of the last incumbent, if any. Such petitions shall be filed in\nthe office of the clerk of the board of education between the hours of\nnine a.m. and five p.m., on or before the twentieth day preceding the\nday of the annual election. The clerk shall refuse to accept petitions\nsigned by an insufficient number of qualified voters, or petitions which\nare not timely. If a candidate for whom a nominating petition for the\noffice of member of a board of education has been duly filed withdraws\nsuch petition, dies or becomes otherwise ineligible to hold such office\nat a time which is later than fifteen days before the last day for the\nfiling of nominating petitions as provided in this subdivision, the time\nfor filing nominating petitions for such office shall be extended to\nfive p.m. on the fifteenth day after the date on which the candidate\nwithdrew, died or otherwise became ineligible to hold such office,\nprovided that no such nominating petition may be filed after five p.m.\non the seventh day preceding the election.\n 2. The board of education shall cause to be printed official ballots\ncontaining the names of all candidates as above provided, except that\nthe board may refuse to have the names of ineligible candidates placed\non such ballots. The names of the candidates shall be arranged in the\norder as determined by the drawing by lot in accordance with the\nprovisions of paragraph b of subdivision two of section two thousand\nthirty-two of this law. Blank spaces shall be provided so that voters\nmay vote for candidates who have not been nominated for the offices to\nbe filled at such elections. The form of such ballots shall conform\nsubstantially to the form of ballots used at general elections as\nprescribed in the election law. Such ballots shall be printed at the\nexpense of the city school district.\n 3. There shall be delivered to the inspectors in each school election\ndistrict on the day of the annual election, before the opening of the\npolls therein, a supply of such ballots which shall at least equal the\nnumber of qualified voters entitled to vote in such district.\n 4. Such ballots shall have printed thereon instructions as to the\nmarking of the ballots and the number of candidates for the several\noffices for which a voter is permitted to vote.\n 5. If official ballots are not furnished as above provided, an\nelection of members of a board of education in a city school district\nshall not be declared invalid or illegal because of the use of ballots\nwhich do not conform to the requirements of this section or of the\nprovisions of the election law, provided the intent of the voter may be\nascertained from the use of such irregular or defective ballots and such\nuse was not fraudulent and did not substantially affect the result of\nthe election.\n