The 1939 New York state election was held on November 7, 1939, to elect the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals.The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals...

. Besides, an amendment to the State Constitution proposed to legalize Parimutuel betting

Parimutuel betting

Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...

 on horse-race tracks, and was accepted.

History

In 1939, there was only one state officer to be elected statewide: The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, to succeed Frederick E. Crane

Frederick E. Crane

Frederick Evan Crane was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1935 to 1939.-Life:...

, who would reach the constitutional age limit at the end of the year.

The revised State Constitution of 1938, ratified by the electorate the previous year, increased the term in the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 to two years, so that there were no assembly elections anymore in odd-numbered years.

The Democratic State Committee met on September 27, and nominated associate judge Irving Lehman for Chief Judge.

The American Labor

American Labor Party

The American Labor Party was a political party in the United States established in 1936 which was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party who had established themselves as the Social Democratic...

 State Committee met on September 30 and endorsed the Democratic nominee Irving Lehman.

The Republican State Committee met on October 3, and endorsed the Democratic and American Labor nominee Irving Lehman.

Result

Judge Irving Lehman was elected unopposed.

1939 state election result

Ticket / Office	Chief Judge Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals.The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals...
Democratic	Irving Lehman Irving Lehman Irving Lehman was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945.- Biography:...
Republican	Irving Lehman Irving Lehman Irving Lehman was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945.- Biography:...
American Labor American Labor Party The American Labor Party was a political party in the United States established in 1936 which was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party who had established themselves as the Social Democratic...	Irving Lehman Irving Lehman Irving Lehman was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945.- Biography:...

Sources

• Official result: 1,225,495 Approved Pari-Mutuel in NYT on December 10, 1939 (subscription required)