Van White sues to get name on congressional primary ballot after missing deadline

Van White wants a judge to overrule the Board of Elections and add his name to the Democratic primary ballot in the race to succeed the late Rep. Louise Slaughter.

White's complaint comes down to whether he filed his nominating petitions by the deadline. The Monroe County Board of Elections ruled he did not.

The city school board president is trying to join former broadcast journalist Rachel Barnhart, City Councilman Adam McFadden, state Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, and Brighton Town Board member Robin Wilt on the June 26 ballot.

Backgrounder:Who's running to replace Louise Slaughter?

Slaughter, a Fairport Democrat who represented the Rochester area in Congress since 1987, died March 16. She was seeking re-election when she was injured in a fall at her Washington, D.C., home. Slaughter was 88.

Her death set off a scramble for who might replace her, then to collect the needed petition signatures by the April 12 deadline.

White mailed his petitions that evening, a Thursday. The Board of Elections received the package the following Monday, and rejected it. Why? A court order setting the primary stated that petitions would be accepted "if sent by mail or overnight delivery service ... prior to midnight of the last day of filing, and received no later than one business day after the last day to file."

But White, in his petition filed in state Supreme Court, stated , "I concluded that if, and only if, I filed by overnight delivery service my petition would have to be delivered to the local board of elections by the next business day." Otherwise, it only needed to be postmarked by the deadline, he said.

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This is not the first time White has sought a court decision to get on the ballot. Back in 2010, he sought to challenge state Assemblyman David Gantt in a Democratic primary, but a judge ruled that his legal residence, for voting purposes, was on Mulberry Street, thus placing him outside the district. He had argued he had ties to properties on Grove Place, where his offices are located, and a family residence on Clarissa Street, both of which are in the 133rd Assembly District.

In his latest court filing, White states — and his registration shows — his residence being at the Grove Place address.

A message left with White late Thursday afternoon was not immediately returned.

BDSHARP@Gannett.com