Lerman v. Board of Elections in the City of New York

STRAUB, Circuit Judge:

The late former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, was fond of saying that “all politics is local.” Tip O’Neill, All Politics is Local (1994). Through its requirement that witnesses to ballot access “designating petitions” be “resident[s] of the political subdivision in which the office or position is to be voted for,” N.Y. Elec. L. § 6-132(2) (McKinney 1998), the State of New York has attempted to elevate this political adage into an affirmative command. The Constitution, however, protects certain forms of political activity…