Volunteers for President Obama’s re-election campaign delivered 56,586 petition signatures to the state Board of Elections today in order to place the tippy top of the 2012 Democratic ticket on the state’s ballot.

Unless some very weird happens, Obama is expected to carry New York easily, just like every Democratic presidential candidate since Michael Dukakis in 1988 has.

But even if his re-election prospects are in doubt in the rest of the country, his appearance on the ticket is expected to help the down ballot for Democrats in Senate, House and state legislative races.

Delegates for the national convention in North Carolina will be formally announced in April.

“New York Democrats were eager to roll up their sleeves and work closely with the Obama campaign to get the President on the ballot in New York,” said New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs in a statement. “We know that our country needs a president like Barack Obama now more than ever.”

The full Obama-Biden statement is after the jump:

Earlier today, Obama for America volunteers delivered 56,586 petition signatures to the New York State Board of Elections to place President Obama on the New York ballot for the primary in April. Working with the New York State Democratic Party, this represents more than eleven times the legally required amount of signatures to place a candidate on the presidential ballot. The volunteers in New York’s petition collection effort underscores the President’s continued commitment to building the strongest grassroots organization in history, and represents the strength of the New York State Democratic Party.

Following the ballot delivery, Obama for America New York State Director Robert Diamond said, “The election in November represents a clear choice for the American people, between continuing the progress the Obama Administration has begun creating jobs and restoring economic security for hard working Americans or the Republican candidates who continue to fight to protect tax breaks for only the wealthiest corporations and individuals, and propose returning to the same failed policies that created the current economic recession in the first place. Collecting signatures is the first step toward winning in November and an important opportunity for Democrats in New York to show their support for the President.”

“New York Democrats were eager to roll up their sleeves and work closely with the Obama campaign to get the President on the ballot in New York,” said New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs. “We know that our country needs a president like Barack Obama now more than ever.”

In addition, volunteers filed more than a thousand signatures for each of New York’s twenty-nine congressional districts to nominate candidates for district delegate to represent President Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Candidates for delegate will be elected during the April Primary.

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