Editorial: New York's crazy system to run for office
Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is mobbed by reporters while attempting to collect signatures to run for comptroller of New York City. (July 8, 2013) Credit: Getty Images
127,000 -- That's a rough total of the signatures Eliot Spitzer and Scott Stringer submitted to enter the primary for New York City comptroller, although each needed only 3,750 signatures of registered Democrats to qualify. Spitzer, who paid workers a bounty to collect them in just four days, submitted 27,000; Stringer 100,000. Candidates overcollect to survive brutal petition challenges. Stringer now says he won't challenge Spitzer's lists, but last week's drama highlights a chaotic system that isn't about letting candidates on the ballot, but keeping them off.
