By Chris Baker | Syracuse.com

With 2,439 signatures, Walsh creates new line on Syracuse mayoral ballot

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The man whose path to the ballot once seemed most unclear will now be on there twice.

Ben Walsh secured a second line on the Syracuse mayoral ballot Tuesday, submitting 2,439 petition signatures to the Onondaga County Board of Elections to create an Upstate Jobs Party slot.

Walsh needed 1,349 signatures from registered city voters in order to qualify for his own ballot line. He collected nearly 1,100 more than that, minimizing the chance for a successful challenge.

“We did everything to prepare” for a challenge, Walsh said Tuesday.

Potential challengers have until Friday to file an objection to Walsh’s Upstate Jobs line. Pending objections, he will be on November’s general election ballot on two lines: Upstate Jobs and Reform.

The Upstate Jobs Party endorsed Walsh earlier this summer. Martin Babinec formed that party last year during his independent run for Congress in the 22nd District. Babinec is looking to build momentum and establish a permanent ballot line for Upstate Jobs as early as next year.

Walsh has also received the nomination of the Reform Party, which has a permanent ballot line. That party is the smallest in Syracuse with 11 registered members.

An unnamed man allegedly orchestrated an objection to Walsh’s Reform candidacy earlier this summer, but the Board of Elections dismissed it.

NEXT -> Watch Ben Walsh and his wife Lindsay deliver 2438 petitions for the Upstate Jobs Party line to the Board of Elections!