The "Gotcha" Game: Why It’s So Hard to Run as an Independent in NYC

[Ralph Yozzo]

In this video, the creator discusses the partisan nature of the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) and highlights the strict, often confusing hurdles that independent candidates face when trying to get on the ballot for the November 2026 election.

Key Takeaways from the Video

• A Bipartisan Monopoly: The creator points out that according to the state constitution, the NYC Board of Elections is strictly split 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans [00:08], making it incredibly difficult for independent parties to compete.
• The BOE Ledger: The video highlights a 46-page candidate status ledger from the BOE dated June 17th [01:27, 02:45]. It details which independent candidates are being disqualified from the upcoming ballot.
• Disqualification Pitfalls:
  • While some candidates are removed for "insufficient signatures," others are disqualified for technical formatting issues [02:31, 03:24].
  • The creator highlights a specific candidate, Renee Mitchell (running for the 45th Assembly District), who collected enough signatures but was knocked off the ballot due to a vague "invalid cure determination" and a non-compliance notice (NC) [03:24, 03:54].
• The "Gotcha" Laws: The speaker criticizes a state law signed by Governor Hochul that restricts the use of certain words on petitions [05:45]. Specifically, candidates running as independents are legally barred from using the actual word "Independent" as their official party name on the form, which the creator argues functions as a trap to disqualify candidates without providing them upfront guidance [05:23, 05:38]. YouTube video views will be stored in your YouTube History, and your data will be stored and used by YouTube according to its Terms of Service

[cca...@aol.com]

Thanks a million for the info. What suggestions do you have for us to correct?

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[Ralph Yozzo]

Hi Cassey and everyone,

The thing to consider is that it is not easy to be an independent candidate. The board of elections will actively remove independent candidates. 

One suggestion is to ask your neighbors and friends if they know of any candidates or have been a candidate themselves. Describe the process of how the board of elections is completely run by the two-party system.  The place is filled with patronage jobs.  It seems all the people are related to each other or party machine people. 

It appears that if you're not a registered democrat or republican you cannot even be hired by the board of elections for their major positions. 

Just ask your friends and neighbors why election turnout is so abysmal? 

Ralph

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