The Slatest

Spitzer Finds His Way Onto NYC Ballot

Eliot Spitzer collects signatures from citizens to run for comptroller of New York City on July 8, 2013 in New York City

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Looks like all the hand-wringing over whether Eliot Spitzer would be able to gather the necessary signatures to get onto the ballot in New York City was for naught. Spitzer, who announced Sunday that he hopes to return to public sevice as the city’s comptroller, ultimately submitted 27,000 signatures with the city Board of Elections last night, easily exceeding the 3,750 he needed. The Huffington Post with a look at the rules he and his fellow comptroller hopefuls are playing by:

The signatures must [still] be validated by the city’s Board of Elections and are subject to challenge from opponents. Signatures can be invalidated if a voter had already put his John Hancock on the petition of another comptroller candidate, is not a registered Democrat in New York City or runs afoul of any number of other technicalities. Because of New York’s arcane rules, Spitzer needed roughly 15,000 signatures to feel secure that he could stave off challenges, according to a New York election lawyer.

Spitzer had to open his wallet to make sure he didn’t come up short given how little time he had between when he made his announcement and last night’s deadline. The New York Daily News reports he paid campaign workers as much as $800 a day to collect signatures.

Spitzer’s main rival, Scott Stringer, the Manhattan borough president who had a clear path to victory until Spitzer shook things up with his announcement, submitted roughly 100,000 signatures.