On Tuesday New York State GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino and fellow Republicans filed more than 62,000 signatures at the state Board of Elections, the result of a highly successful petition drive to create an independent “Stop Common Core” ballot line for the November general election.
According to PressConnects, if certified by the state Board of Elections, the initiative would give the GOP ticket a third ballot line in the general election against incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other Democrats.
“The support we have received has been incredible and we’re sure that the rejection of Cuomo’s Common Core is being heard loud and clear across the state and all the way to the governor’s mansion,” Astorino, the Westchester County executive, said in an email Tuesday to supporters.
“This is what democracy looks like, folks,” Astorino said in an interview on WGDJ-AM’s Live from the State Capitol, according to the blog Politics on the Hudson. “The Cuomos of the world don’t like it because they can’t control it.”
A candidate must obtain 15,000 petition signatures in order to achieve a ballot line in New York, and at least 100 from a majority of congressional districts. Astorino’s campaign said it has submitted over four times the minimum number needed and would qualify in every congressional district in New York State.
Republicans say this petition drive is the largest in New York State history, surpassing the Working Families Party’s 1998 petition filing, which reportedly included about 60,000 signatures, says a report on Tumblr.
Last month, Astorino, a staunch opponent of the Common Core standards, announced his intention to seek the independent ballot line.
The Stop Common Core ballot initiative was organized by veteran GOP operative Vince Casale and Michael Lawler, Astorino’s campaign manager. Casale said the effort brought together volunteers from all political party affiliations, as well as parents, teachers, and students – all united against the controversial nationalized standards.
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