Election Lawyer Jerry Goldfeder on the Heat of NYC’s 2026 Primary Season

With early voting kicking off in less than two weeks, Jerry Goldfeder’s phone is ringing nonstop. Goldfeder—a senior counsel at Cozen O’Connor and a fixture in New York election law—has been fielding panicked calls from candidates across the five boroughs, from Assembly hopefuls in Astoria to judicial contenders in the Bronx. “Every cycle, the stakes feel higher,” Goldfeder told NYC Pulse from his Midtown office on Friday afternoon, as legal deadlines loomed for ballot challenges.

Goldfeder’s client roster reads like a who’s-who of New York politics: he’s repped everyone from Kirsten Gillibrand to City Council upstarts sweating petition signatures. But this spring, he says, campaign attorneys are working overtime. “We’re seeing more challenges, more scrutiny, and a lot more money at play,” he said, referencing three separate cases filed this month in Kings County Supreme Court over disputed nominating petitions.

In his Election Law class at Fordham, Goldfeder’s teaching is suddenly urgent: “My students are watching the process in real time,” he said. Last week, several attended proceedings at 60 Centre Street as lawyers argued over whether a Queens candidate’s 47 disputed signatures would be enough to keep her on the ballot. “It’s democracy, but it’s also hand-to-hand combat,” he added.

With June’s primaries less than a month away, Goldfeder expects a spike in last-minute legal fights. “If you’re a candidate in New York, you better have your lawyers on speed dial,” he said, glancing at his calendar stacked with court dates from Bay Ridge to Mott Haven. For a city obsessed with politics, the drama isn’t just at the ballot box—this year, it’s unfolding in the courtroom, too.