Matter of Hogan v. Callahan, 43 N.Y.2d 615 (1978)

When all pending designations for a particular office within a political party fail, a court may grant alternative relief under Section 16-100 of the Election Law by providing an opportunity for party members to ballot and express their choice of candidate.

Summary

This case concerns a dispute over the Democratic nominations for four seats in the Ulster County Legislature from the 9th Legislative District. After challenges to the designating petitions of the candidates were successful, the Special Term ordered that Democratic voters be given an opportunity to write in the names of candidates. The Appellate Division reversed, but the Court of Appeals modified the Appellate Division’s order, reinstating the Special Term’s directive for a write-in opportunity. The Court of Appeals held that the failure of all pending designations empowered the Special Term to grant alternative relief under Election Law § 16-100, allowing Democratic Party members to express their choice of candidate.

Facts

Four enrolled Democrats sought the Democratic nomination for four seats in the Ulster County Legislature from the 9th Legislative District. Objections were raised against the designating petitions of these candidates. Due to the failure of all pending designations of the Democratic Party for the said office, the Special Term granted a request in the petition for alternative relief: an opportunity to ballot on primary day in the 9th Legislative District of the County of Ulster.

Procedural History

The Special Term directed the Ulster County Board of Elections to provide the enrolled Democratic voters of the 9th Legislative District of Ulster County with the opportunity to write in the names of candidates. The Appellate Division reversed this judgment. The Court of Appeals modified the Appellate Division’s order, reinstating the Special Term’s judgment regarding the write-in opportunity, and affirmed the order as modified.

Issue(s)

Whether, given the failure of all pending designations for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the Ulster County Legislature’s 9th Legislative District, the Special Term was empowered under Section 16-100 of the Election Law to grant alternative relief by providing an opportunity for Democratic voters to ballot on primary day.

Holding

Yes, because the failure of all pending designations empowered the Special Term to grant the request in the petition for alternative relief, to wit: an opportunity to ballot on primary day in the 9th Legislative District of the County of Ulster.

Court’s Reasoning

The Court of Appeals reasoned that because all pending designations of the Democratic Party for the office in question had failed, Special Term was authorized under Section 16-100 of the Election Law to grant alternative relief. This alternative relief took the form of providing an opportunity for Democratic party members to ballot on primary day. The Court cited Matter of Hunting v Power, 20 NY2d 680 and Matter of Ramos v Alpert, 41 AD2d 1012, affd 32 NY2d 903 as precedent. The Court emphasized that this action afforded members of the Democratic Party, who would otherwise be without a designated candidate, an opportunity to express their choice and present a candidate to voters in the general election. The court distinguished the portion of the proceeding seeking to validate designating petitions, noting that the objector was an indispensable party to that phase, citing Matter of Butler v Hayduk, 37 NY2d 497. The failure to serve the objector precluded the court from entertaining that specific aspect of the case. However, the alternative relief was permissible due to the unique circumstances of all designations having failed. The decision ensures that party members have a voice in selecting their candidate, even when initial designation efforts are unsuccessful. The Court modified the Appellate Division’s order to reinstate the Special Term’s judgment regarding the write-in opportunity, affirming the order as modified.