The Independent View: NY Public Financing Coalition Wants Session to Change Recommendations

New York Groups that have Pushed for the Public Financing of Campaigns wants State Lawmakers to Return before the End of the year and take up what it says are Necessary Changes to the Recommendations Proposed by the New York State Public Campaign Financing Commission responsible for the Specifics of the Program.

The Coalition, Fair Elections NY, broadly are seeking Lower Contribution Limits than the Caps of $18,000 for Statewide Office, $10,000 for the State Senate, and $6,000 for the State Assembly, as Proposed by the Commission.

At the same time, the Coalition wants a Stronger Enforcement Mechanism for Public Financing, have the Program Launch in 2022 and Reject the more Stringent Requirements for Ballot Access that will likely hinder Third Parties in the State.

“The Commission you created was formed in response to public outcry around the undue influence of big money in Albany,” the Groups wrote in the Letter.

“The Commission ended up approving a program that will not do enough to reduce big money’s dominance, and the Commission abused its power in an anti-democratic attack on New York’s minor parties.”

The Legislature doesn’t necessarily have to Return in a Special Session before 2020 Begins.

Unlike Previous Commissions, like a Pay Raise taking Effect in the New year, the Commission's Recommended Campaign Finance system won’t take effect until 2026.

Update

Richard Winger of Ballot Access News has looked at the Report. His thoughts:

- The Commission wants to raise the vote test to 130,000 votes for Governor, or an even higher amount if that works out to something less than 2%. If it works out to less than 2%, then the Commisison vote test would be 2%. In 2018 the gubernatorial vote was 6,097,368, so the new 130,000 requirement would be 2.13%. The new vote test would therefore be greater than 1% for the first time in New York history.

- The Report fails to mention that New York is one of only eleven states with no means for a group to become a qualified party in advance of an election. The Report fails to mention that the existing petition deadline for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, is unconstitutionally early, as a result of a bill that passed early in 2019. It is now in May, whereas it had been in August until early 2019. Six states have had their June petition deadlines struck down, so it seems obvious that May is too early. If the Commission is trying to reform New York’s ballot access laws, it is being irresponsible by not correcting existing problems.

- The Report fails to mention that the Second Circuit already ruled in 2010 in Green Party of Connecticut v Garfield, 616 F 3d 213, that if a state has public funding, it is constitutional for it to make it far easier for candidates who are nominees of the Republican and Democratic Parties to get that funding, than it is for anyone else. New York is in the Second Circuit.

- From a Comment of his Article: Campaign finance “reform” has, thus, become a new, covert way to limit ballot access, and, consequently, suppress the choices of voters who care to show up. It thus reveals itself as a more insidious method of voter suppression, all in the hypocritical name of improving democracy.