It is very gratifying that so many members of the bench and bar have
come to rely on this book. I am pleased that earlier editions have received
such positive reviews in the New York Times, New York Law Journal, the
New York State Bar Journal, Ballot Access News and the Election Law
Journal. In this Fifth Edition, I have tried again to incorporate as many
appellate and trial court decisions as possible – so readers have a broad
range of source material to use.
My work stands on the shoulders of Benjamin Gassman, Lewis Abrahams
and Edward Byer, all authors of previous election law treatises in New York.
I thank them for their contributions to the field. I also thank my current
colleagues in the election law bar for their generous assistance in improving
this work.
As before, I particularly thank my colleagues at Stroock for providing me
the opportunity to practice and write, and to those at the Fordham Law
School and University of Pennsylvania Law School to teach Election Law.
I especially am grateful to my terrific students at both schools. It may be a
cliche´, but it is nevertheless true that I learn more from my students than
can be measured. They always provide useful insights, and keep me on my
toes. And their enthusiasm has sustained my own interest and faith in the
electoral system.
Finally, of course, I thank my family: Alice; Peter and Larissa; and Carly
and David. Our grandchildren — Jonah, Andrew and Violet — have a great
stake in fair and free elections. Each day I am reminded of that great New
York Governor, Samuel J. Tilden, whose election to the presidency was
stolen from him in 1876. Nevertheless, in a speech to a civic organization
in Manhattan several months later, he attempted to assuage the anger and
consternation of his fellow New Yorkers:
"If my voice could reach throughout our country and be heard in its
remotest hamlet, I would say: Be of good cheer. The Republic will
live. The institutions of our fathers are not to expire in shame. The
sovereignty of the people shall be rescued from this peril and re-
established."*
Of course, our Republic will survive only if we are vigilant in protecting
our precious institutions and the rule of law.
New York City
March 2018
* William H. Rehnquist, CENTENNIAL CRISIS: THE DISPUTED ELECTION OF 1876 (Knopf 2014),
at 210.
Topics covered include:
The Petitioning Process
Eligibility and Residency Issues
Vacancies, Convictions, Disqualifications and Other Extraordinary Situations
Election Day and Post-Election Day Issues
Recounts under the new Election Law Reform and Modernization Act
The Judicial Process
Campaign Finance Law in New York State and New York City
Independent Expenditures and SuperPACs
Initiative and Referendum in New York
Also includes the NYS Board of Election Rules, and the NYS Election Law.
The Fifth Edition also includes election cases through March 2018, including recent state and federal rulings on residency requirements, candidate eligibility, recount laws, Wilson-Pakula procedures and jurisdictional matters.
You will want to be up-to-date!
Purchasers are also entitled to our new periodic Election Law Update that will be sent at no cost.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JERRY H. GOLDFEDER is Special Counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan,
LLP, specializing in election and campaign finance law, government relations
and public integrity defense.
Goldfeder's Modern Election Law: Pricing
Election Law: Single soft-covered volume (includes online access)
