Since June 8, state legislators and those hoping to unseat them have been busy gathering signatures from registered voters in their districts.

To get on the ballot in their respective primaries, congressional candidates need 1,250 signatures; candidates for state Senate require 1,000; and candidates for state Assembly need 500. Alternatively, candidates must secure the signatures of 5 percent of registered voters in the district (from their particular party).   

Sounds easy?  It’s not. The deadline for filing these petitions is July 15, meaning candidates have just five weeks to get the job done. Moreover, they and their paid staff or volunteers need to collect the required signatures and then some, to avoid being kicked off the ballot if certain names are challenged by other candidates.

Signatures can get thrown out by the Board of Elections if they are illegible; if the voter signed another candidate’s petition on an earlier date; if the voter is, say, a registered Republican when the candidate is a Democrat; and for myriad other reasons.

Petitions can’t be mailed, so candidates and their supporters hit up local apartment buildings (they obtain addresses of local voters from the Board of Elections), or stand outside schools, on street corners, or by subway stations during rush hour. 

A good showing by a candidate – perhaps two or three times the required signatures – not only gets you on the ballot, but it sends a message to political opponents and voters alike, says Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, the senior advisor to Gustavo Rivera, a Democrat who’s running against State Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr. in the 33rd District. 

“It shows that you have tremendous support in the community,”said Lorris Ritter.

The primaries are on Sept. 14.