Candidates for any elective office shall be nominated by petition. Each petition shall be in the format and meet requirements provided by State law for petitions for independent candidates. It shall be signed by not less than 50 registered electors of the City. A nominating petition may consist of one or more separate petition papers, each of which shall be substantially in the form prescribed in this section. A signature on a nominating petition is not valid if it is dated more than 150 days before the General Election. Each Petition shall be filed with the Board of Elections before 4:00 p.m. of the 90th day before the day of the general election."