(Photo: Getty)

All candidates for Congressional and Senate campaigns this cycle will need to collect the necessary signatures by April 16th, a federal judge ruled today.

The number of signatures needed for these campaigns will be dropped 25% as well, because of the compressed schedule that resuled from a recent federal ruling establishing the primary date for Congressional and Senatorial primary elections on June 26th, to comply with a new federal law.

No lines have been established yet, and then number of required signatures may still drop more if Albany stalls with redistricting and candidates do not know what districts they will even be running in.

The primary date and election schedule for state legislative elections is still up in the air, one of the factors resulting in a profound amount of chaos in New York State's 2012 elections thus far.

View the ruling below: