Patrick is a 17 year-old Senior at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School, a program educator with Albany Reptile Adventure, an occasional volunteer trail steward with the Saratoga PLAN, a barista at the local business Cupola Coffee, and an aspiring functional member of American society. He has always had a very strong interest in law and will likely go to college in 2024 for pre-law and social sciences. Do any of these things qualify him to be an esteemed town justice? Absolutely not. Does that matter? Not according to nycourts.gov . In the state of New York, local judges are elected offices and need almost no qualifications to run. For more information, go to our How and Why section. Obviously, assuming that your town has more than a couple hundred people in it (like does the Town of Ballston), this presents a huge problem. Judges should have to be formally educated in the law, and ideally be a Bar-Certified lawyer. So you may be asking yourself, "why is this self-described unqualified teenager running for town justice?" Well, Patrick Nyhan is running because nothing says he can't, and people should know that. New York law must be changed! Sign our petition and read over our proposed bill on our FIX IT! section. Feel free to reach out to Patrick with any questions you may have at the address below. Show your support at our numerous upcoming events, and remember, a vote for Patrick come November is a vote to make sure that your voice is heard, and New York really listens!