New York City Campaign Finance Board
The New York City Campaign Finance Board is an independent, nonpartisan New York City agency that administers the city's public campaign financing system and provides campaign finance information to the public. Its responsibilities include enforcing the New York City Campaign Finance Act, auditing campaigns for compliance, administering the public matching funds program for candidates for city office, and conducting voter outreach and education under the NYC Votes brand. The CFB’s stated goals include increasing voter participation, strengthening the role of small contributors, expanding the pool of candidates able to run for office, and reducing the potential for actual or perceived corruption in municipal elections.
The agency's origin dates to the mid-1980s, when mayor Ed Koch proposed ethics reforms in response to several local corruption scandals. These efforts led to the Campaign Finance Act, adopted by the New York City Council on February 29, 1988, and to charter revisions approved by voters later that year establishing the CFB as an independent agency.
Structure and appointment process
The CFB is governed by a five-member board whose members serve staggered five-year terms and may be reappointed. Two members are appointed by the mayor, two by the speaker of the New York City Council, and the chair is appointed by the mayor after consultation with the speaker. Board members have typically included attorneys, academics, and civic and faith leaders.The founding board members appointed in April 1988 were Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, S.J., James I. Lewis, Frank J. Macchiarola, Robert B. McKay, and Sonia Sotomayor.
The board as of 2025 consists of:
- Frederick Schaffer, Chair
- Gregory T. Camp
- Richard J. Davis
- Lawrence Moskowitz
- Dawn L. Smalls
The Campaign Finance Act
The CFB administers New York City’s Campaign Finance Program, created by the Campaign Finance Act and codified in the New York City Administrative Code and Charter. The Act covers candidates for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and City Council. Candidates who join the voluntary program agree to abide by contribution and spending limits and to detailed disclosure and auditing requirements in exchange for eligibility to receive public matching funds.All covered candidates must periodically disclose the sources and uses of their campaign funds; the CFB publishes this information through its "Follow the Money" online database. The Board audits every campaign for these offices, may investigate potential violations on its own initiative or in response to complaints, and has authority to issue subpoenas, take sworn testimony, and require document production.
The CFB’s enforcement and investigatory powers differ from those of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board, which ordinarily relies on the New York City Department of Investigation for investigative support.
The Campaign Finance Program
The Campaign Finance Program has undergone multiple revisions since its first use in the 1989 elections, often based on recommendations in the CFB’s post-election reports. The program is intended to encourage candidates to seek many small contributions from city residents rather than fewer large donations, and to enable candidates of modest means to compete for local office.Matching funds
Under the current system, the CFB provides public matching funds to participating candidates who meet qualifying thresholds and comply with program rules. For the 2025 citywide elections, the program matches each dollar that an individual New York City resident contributes, up to a capped amount, at an 8-to-1 rate. Depending on the office, the first US$175 or US$250 of an individual’s contribution is matchable, for a maximum of between US$1,400 and US$2,000 in public funds per contributor. Maximum public funds payments per election are set as a percentage of the applicable spending limit and vary by office.The CFB and outside analysts have argued that the matching funds program encourages candidates to broaden their fundraising base. A 2012 study by the Brennan Center for Justice and the Campaign Finance Institute concluded that New York City’s matching funds system gives candidates “an incentive to reach out to a broader and more diverse array of constituents to fund their campaigns,” helping to strengthen connections between elected officials and their constituents.
Contribution restrictions
Contribution limits and related rules apply to all covered campaigns, whether or not a candidate joins the public financing program. Limits are adjusted every four years based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.For the 2025 citywide elections, individual contribution limits per election cycle are:
| Office | Participant | Non-participant |
| Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller | US$2,100 | US$3,700 |
| Borough President | US$1,600 | US$2,650 |
| City Council | US$1,050 | US$1,600 |
Lower limits apply to contributors with “business dealings with the city.” For such donors, the limits are US$400, US$320, and US$250, and their contributions are neither matchable nor counted toward the thresholds to qualify for public funds.
Program participants are prohibited from accepting contributions from corporations, limited liability companies, or partnerships, and may only accept contributions from political committees that have registered with the CFB and agreed not to use corporate funds. Candidates may contribute only limited amounts to their own campaigns; those who wish to self-finance beyond those limits can join the program as “limited participants”, who are subject to spending limits but not eligible for public matching funds.
Spending limits
Participants must comply with spending limits that vary by office and election period. For the 2025 elections, the primary and general election spending limits range from US$228,000 for City Council campaigns to US$7.93 million for mayoral campaigns, with separate “out-year” limits for earlier spending.When a non-participating opponent raises or spends more than half of the applicable spending limit, participating candidates’ spending limits may be increased by 50 percent; if a non-participant raises or spends more than three times the limit, participants in that race are no longer bound by a spending limit.
Threshold requirements
To qualify for public matching funds, candidates must demonstrate a minimum level of local support by raising a specified amount of money in small contributions from New York City residents and meeting a minimum number of matchable contributions. Thresholds vary by office. For the 2025 citywide elections, the thresholds range from at least US$5,000 from 75 contributors for City Council to at least US$250,000 from 1,000 contributors for mayoral candidates.Only the first portion of an individual New York City resident’s contribution counts toward the dollar threshold and is eligible to be matched.
Debate program
The CFB administers a mandatory debate program for leading candidates in citywide offices who participate in the public matching funds program. The debate requirement was adopted in the 1990s after public frustration that mayoral candidates accepted substantial public funds without participating in widely viewed debates, notably during the 1993 mayoral race between David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani.Two debates are held before each primary and general election; an additional debate is held if a runoff election is required. To qualify for the first debate, participating candidates must meet fundraising and spending thresholds that indicate a minimum level of public support, and debate sponsors may apply additional non-partisan, objective criteria in consultation with the CFB. The second debate in each series is limited to “leading contenders”, as determined by additional non-partisan criteria.
Debate sponsors may invite non-participating candidates if they meet the same objective criteria, but public matching funds are not conditioned on accepting invitations to debates beyond those required by law.
NYC Votes
Under the brand NYC Votes, the CFB conducts voter outreach and education and supports voter registration efforts citywide. The CFB’s Voter Assistance Unit works with the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee to organize events, distribute voter education materials, and partner with community organizations.Since 1989, the CFB has published a nonpartisan voter guide for municipal elections, now produced in multiple languages and distributed in print, online, and as a video guide. The guide provides information on how to vote, candidate statements, and explanations of ballot proposals.
History
Debate requirement
The Debate Program grew out of public frustration during the 1993 mayoral campaign, when Giuliani and Dinkins did not participate in a widely accessible, CFB-sponsored debate despite receiving millions of dollars in public funds. At 1993 post-election hearings, mayor-elect Giuliani testified that candidates receiving public campaign funds should be required to “satisfy some of the public frustration” by debating their opponents.In 1996, City Council Speaker Peter Vallone introduced legislation to require debates for participating candidates for citywide office. The measure passed the Council on November 14, 1996, and the debate requirement was first in effect for the 1997 elections.