The Independent View: The Many NY Proposals for Election Campaign Reforms

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has unveiled three new proposals to deal with corruption in Albany.

1. Create an independent enforcement arm in the State Board of Election that is overseen by Democrats and Republicans, who would be able to block investigations. The governor said the Board o Election's enforcement has been "toothless," adding that the agency needs reforms "above and beyond this" but said an independent enforcement arm would be a good place to start.

2. Ending the Wilson-Pakula law. "You've heard of pay-to-play, this is pay-to-run," Cuomo said of the recent case of Sen. Malcolm Smith, who was arrested on allegations he tried to bribe his way onto the Republican line for New York City Mayor. Cuomo said eliminating Wilson-Pakula would allow candidates to run in open primaries by getting enough signatures. The proposal would not end fusion voting, where candidates can run on multiple party lines. Ending Wilson-Pakula would be a significant blow to the clout of the leadership of the state’s influential minor parties who grant the waivers for candidates of major parties to run on their ballot lines. Cuomo said he does not support ending cross-party endorsements, meaning major party candidates could still have fusion ballot lines in a general election.

3. Expedite voter party enrollment, which typically takes until after the next election for a voter's registration to change. Cuomo has proposed making a registration change should take three months no matter when it is submitted.

"There is no silver bullet," Cuomo warned.

Gov. Cuomo unveiled a second set of anti-corruption proposals, aimed at the electoral process and designed to bolster what the governor called the "toothless tiger" of the state board of elections.

4. An independent enforcement unit at the board of elections that would be authorized to investigate election-law violations, without board approval. Currently, the board doesn't have the authority to prosecute criminal violations; it must refer such matters to a district attorney. The unit would be headed by a chief election enforcement officer, appointed by the governor and requiring confirmation by the state Senate, and authorized to investigate and prosecute both civil and criminal cases, with subpoena power.

5. If #4 failed to pass the Legislature, his backup plan would be: the state attorney general's office might be used to investigate and prosecute criminal and civil violations of election laws. But, he said, "I believe the optimum is an independent nonpolitical enforcement mechanism in the board of elections."

The governor said having the independent counsel is preferable for legislators as opposed to having an elected official with such oversight. “The opposing party has a legitimate interest in making sure I don’t pick a partisan Democrat,” Cuomo said. “They’re trying to say; I don’t want a partisan doing the independent enforcement because maybe a Democrat would play politics. That’s a legitimate concern they would have. My solution is I pick, they confirm. If they’re not independent, then I’ll find another candidate.”

The Senate Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), Senate Democrats, and Assembly Democrats have come out with proposals for reforming election and corruption laws in the state.

State Sen. Jeff Klein and the IDC released details on a comprehensive campaign finance system with a six-to-one match for up to $250 contribution for candidates that opt into the system. It also establishes a minimum threshold a candidate must raise to opt in to the system while running for different elected positions. Meanwhile, candidates who choose not to opt in to public financing would face a system with far more restrictions and on corporate donations and contribution limits.

The IDC plan would also create a statewide “doing business” database to track campaign finance data to keep a closer eye on donations from entities that have a stake in a politician's success. In addition, it eliminates corporate contributions to candidates and party committees, ends party "housekeeping" accounts that are subject to lax oversight and does away with the Wilson-Pakula law.

Klein's Majority Coalition co-leader, Republican Dean Skelos, has said that public financing is too costly for hard-pressed taxpayers. Also, many of the ideas in the IDC plan might be seen by Republicans as unilateral disarmament in a state where the GOP's survival often turns on the financial advantage of its candidates.

Skelos' spokesman, Scott Reif, renewed that criticism in a response to the IDC plan.
"While there is more we can do to increase disclosure and tighten up the state's campaign finance laws, we don't believe the answer to recent scandals is to allow politicians to use taxpayer money or other public funds they're not entitled to as a way to finance their campaigns," Reif said. "With dozens of documented incidences of abuse, it's been a recipe for disaster in New York City, and there's no reason to believe it would be any different statewide."

Senate Democrats unveiled their own plan which calls for the passage of a number of bills they have previously proposed. Among the proposals: Legislators convicted of corruption would lose their pensions, legislators could not use campaign cash for defense lawyers or for expensive meals and cars, and lobbyists would have to better document their spending on disclosure reports. It would also amend the state constitution to claw back pensions from convicted lawmakers.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver unveiled his plan for public financing of campaigns that includes six-to-one matching funds that would be paid for by taxpayers who opt in on state tax forms and with money recovered from securities fraud. Silver's plan did not address the Wilson-Pakula law that allows for cross-party endorsements. “I don’t think we should preclude people from running on more than one line,” Silver said at a news conference. “They’re only allowed to register in one party. There has to be a mechanism for people to gain duel endorsements or more.”

Cuomo said he would continue to push for publicly financed campaigns, but wouldn’t commit to veto a package that doesn’t have a public matching system. “I want public financing,” Cuomo said. Pushed on whether that means he would veto a package without public financing Cuomo said, “It’s always the way. There are always laws that I wished were passed that aren’t passed. I don’t think there’s been a perfect legislative session for me, but I continue to strive.”