Passing out ballot info (photo: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

Update: The New York City Council passed the campaign finance amendment on January 19, 2022.

The New York City Council is set to pass legislation this week that would require entities spending to influence voters in local referendums to disclose their funders.

The law would close a loophole in the city's campaign finance law that lawmakers, good government groups, and campaign finance regulators have decried for years. If signed by the mayor, so-called independent expenditures (IEs) of $5,000 or more would be

Tony Avella at City Hall (photo: NY City Council)

The 2023 City Council election is kicking off, as the New York City Campaign Finance Board approved its first public funds payment to a single campaign on Thursday and announced a series of completed campaign audits from the previous election cycle.

The upcoming elections are taking place just two years after all 51 City Council seats were on the ballot in 2021 because of the decennial redistricting process. Based on the 2020 Census, City Council districts were redrawn to

CFB executive director Beth Rotman (photo: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

Though it's been more than 13 months since the last city election cycle ended, the New York City Campaign Finance Board has yet to conclude any audits examining the fundraising and expenditure of more than 300 campaigns. At an oversight hearing of the City Council’s Committee on Governmental Operations on Tuesday, the CFB, under new leadership, promised Council members that it is taking steps to expedite those audits as it continuously works to improve the city’s campaign finance

Amy Loprest, center (photo: @NYCVotes)

October 4, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Amy Loprest on 16 Years Running the New York City Campaign Finance Board

Amy Loprest, retiring after 16 years running the New York City Campaign Finance Board, joined the show to reflect on campaign finance reform in the city over the last two decades, how the city's public matching system has improved local democracy, other aspects of the CFB's mission, and potential changes ahead.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)

The New York City Campaign Finance Board is expected to take action Thursday against a slate of political action committees (PACs) as the agency continues to audit the 2021 city elections. The alleged violations range from failing to report contributions to not disclosing the individuals behind a corporate donor – gaps that make it difficult to track the flow of tens of thousands of dollars spent to influence voters.

They involve five entities known as independent

Eric Adams after a press conference (photo: Eric Adams)

In the last two months of the mayoral election, now Mayor-elect Eric Adams refunded more than $1 million to 653 donors, only a few of whom had already contributed the maximum amount to his campaign while others had donated nothing previously.

Between September 28 and November 25, the period covering two campaign finance disclosure filings, donors attempted to give Adams’ campaign more than $1.3 million. But Adams only retained about $298,000. The recent $1 million in

Voters at the voting booth (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

There are five yes or no questions on the 2021 general election ballot across New York, asking voters to approve or disapprove changes to the state constitution. All the items on the ballot have been passed by two successive classes of the State Legislature and now go to the voters. They includes measures related to legislative redistricting, voting, clean air and water, and more.

Four experts joined host Ben Max for a Manhattan Neighborhood Network

The road to City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)

Note (September 3, 2021): This article has been updated to reflect public matching funds payments to Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa of roughly $2 million and $2.6 million respectively. Those payments were announced by the city's Campaign Finance Board on September 2.

Eric Adams has continued a robust fundraising operation since receiving the Democratic nomination for mayor, bolstering his chances of sailing smoothly to victory in the November general election against his long-shot

(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Spending on this year’s mayoral election has already surpassed the $100 million mark, according to the latest campaign finance reports that were filed on Friday. Those filings show fundraising and expenditures by the Democratic and Republican candidates for mayor, including the top eight Democratic mayoral candidates who made the televised debates, as well as independent expenditure groups, also known as political action committees (PACs), which spent for or against candidates.

The top eight

(l-r) Dianne Morales, Maya Wiley, Kathryn Garcia, Andrew Yang

With under four weeks to go till the June 22 primary, the top Democratic mayoral candidates are receiving another round of public matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board, giving several of them the boost they need in the crucial period ahead. Particularly, the payout will help four candidates better compete with several of their competitors who had already banked larger sums, some of whom have been running for mayor for much longer.

Campaigns have little time left to

(l-r) Maya Wiley, Andrew Yang, Kathryn Garcia, Shaun Donovan, & Dianne Morales all appear on track for matching funds

The top tier of candidates in this year’s Democratic primary for New York City mayor continues coming into focus through a variety of metrics, including the latest campaign finance filings, which help indicate which candidates have gained traction with voters and will have the financial means to compete ahead of the June vote. In the heavily Democratic city, the party’s primary winner is the odds-on-favorite to become the city’s next

Voting! (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) held a public meeting of its Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC) last week to discuss the ongoing process of ranked-choice voting outreach and education. The CFB is tasked with those efforts by the recent city Charter change approved by voters in 2019 that is ushering ranked-choice voting into effect for party primary and special elections for city government positions, with the first implementation happening this year. There are several

(l-r) Comptroller candidates Lander, Benjamin, Weprin, Parker

This article is published in partnership with City Limits. Also read: The Money Race in the Mayoral Primary: January Filing Sets the Stage for 2021

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If money plays a decisive role in the Democratic race for

Mayoral candidates Scott Stringer, left, and Eric Adams

The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) on Tuesday awarded $17.3 million in public matching funds to 61 candidates for office, kicking the 2021 municipal election into high gear. All of city government is on the ballot next year, starting with June party primaries, and most current officeholders can’t seek reelection due to term limits.

The public funds payment is the first in the 2021 cycle, under new voluntary campaign rules that match qualifying

Small donations can power campaigns (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

We’ve never seen this many candidates before. There are more than 300 declared candidates for New York City Council running in 2021, along with more than 50 running for positions like Borough President, City Comptroller, and Mayor. There are 51 City Council districts, so on average, voters will have six or more choices for their ranked-choice vote just for their local Council member in the June primaries. These

Early voting at a poll site can be a breeze (photo: @BOENYC)

As election administrators across the state prepare themselves for a second, larger wave of mass absentee voting this fall, officials and voting advocates are encouraging as many voters as possible to take advantage of the state's in-person early voting option as an alternative to crowded Election Day poll sites and the uncertainty of casting a ballot by mail.

Early voting, first launched statewide in 2019, will be offered this fall from October 24 through November 1 and gives all

Voter registration (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

A bill that would have made it possible for many thousands of New York City residents to register to vote online, which passed the State Senate but stalled in the Assembly earlier this year, is unlikely to pass before the general election registration deadline and would be too late to be implemented even if it did, officials say.

The legislation, first introduced in the summer of 2019, would allow the New York City Campaign Finance Board to open the online voter registration portal it created

Voting was again challenging in New York City (photo: Edwin J Torres/Mayor's Office)

When Imani Clenance didn’t receive her absentee ballot to vote in the recent June primaries she, like many others, went to vote in person. But at her polling site in Harlem, she realized that her struggle to vote had only just started.

After being given her ballot, she only received one page with Democratic presidential primary candidates on it, but no mention of the Congressional race in her district, District 13, that she knew from the Board of

What voters need to know to vote in June (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

The images of Wisconsin voters standing in line last month starkly illustrated how COVID-19 has triggered a health emergency for our democracy. Here in New York, elections have been postponed or canceled in response to the pandemic. We are taking the first steps towards voting in a new way, via mail-in absentee ballots. With all of these rapid changes, it is no wonder voters are confused about what steps they can take to cast a vote safely and help maintain the

Voters in New York City don't vote very much (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

New York has, in recent years, become known for low voter turnout, and while the arithmetic of getting voters to the polls has always been foggy, new findings shed light on both the details of the city's turnout problem and factors that impact which potential voters actually cast a ballot.

Late last week, the New York City Campaign Finance Board released its latest Voter Analysis Report, an annual

 A new report looks at coronavirus and voter turnout correlations (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)

Neighborhoods with historically low voter participation are among the areas hit hardest by the novel coronavirus, according to a new analysis by the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB), a factor that threatens to compound the crisis' fallout in low-income communities of color.

Four of the five zip codes with the highest rates of COVID-19 infection out of

Next potential steps for voting in New York (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

The following is an excerpt from the 2019-20 NYC Votes Voter Analysis Report

Novel and frightening barriers to voting have the potential to upend the entire crucial 2020 election year in every state. The challenges of in-person voting during a pandemic are clear and significant. Elections traditionally provide a time for citizens to gather together in

(l-r top) Richards, Crowley, Constantinides, (bottom) Quinn, Yin, Miranda

After being postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, the Queens Borough president special election was rescheduled to take place on June 23, causing broad confusion among the candidates running for the seat and likely a logistical headache for election administrators since a separate primary for the position is also set for the same day.

The special election, which was triggered when Queens Borough President Melinda Katz was elected the borough’s district attorney, was originally

Coronavirus complicates voter registration efforts & voting itself (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

A bill before the state Legislature expanding online voter registration in New York City has taken on particular urgency amid the coronavirus pandemic, its sponsors say, as in-person voter registration drives become impossible and New Yorkers are told to avoid leaving their homes but for essentials and emergencies.

The New York City Board of Elections currently only allows an individual to register to vote online through the Department of

Mayor de Blasio delivers a coronavirus briefing (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

An employee at 100 Church Street in Lower Manhattan, where a number of city agency offices are located, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. Mayor Bill de Blasio has not disclosed the revelation publicly, even as city employees and members of the public continue to conduct business there.

The information that a building occupant tested positive for the novel coronavirus came to city agencies from both City Hall and the building's management company,