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Potential November election candidates to begin gathering signatures

Wood chairs line a wall with letters hanging that read "Onondaga County Board of Elections."
Scott Willis
/
WAER News
The American flag hangs inside the Onondaga County Board of Elections office.

The petitioning process for candidates to appear on the November ballot begins Friday. Prospective candidates have until April 6 to draw enough signatures to secure their spot for the general election.

Numerous positions are up for election this year, including on the Syracuse Common Council and Onondaga County Legislature, as well as for county executive, county comptroller and district attorney.

Signing a petition does not mean you have to vote for that person, but residents can only sign petitions if they are registered to vote and enrolled in the same political party as the candidate on the petition they’re signing. Additionally, they must live in the district the candidate is running to represent.

Candidates must collect a minimum amount of signatures, which varies depending on district and party affiliation.

More details are available on the Onondaga County Board of Elections' website.

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.