\n<\/em>Contact: J.H. (\u201cJim\u201d) Snider, The New York State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse<\/em><\/p>\n
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The Committee for a Constitutional Convention had receipts of $66,988.86, expenditures of $41,198.74, and a balance of $25,790.12.\u00a0 The money was contributed in relatively small amounts, primarily by individuals expected to run as delegates if the constitutional convention referendum is approved.<\/p>\n The following committees reported no activity: Say No to a Constitutional Convention and Restrict & Regulate in NYState 2019.*<\/p>\n The no campaign thus out-raised the yes campaign by almost 3:1. This is relatively low in comparison to the final ratio in other states, where it is usually above 10:1 (<\/strong>see Snider, J.H., Does the World Really Belong to the Living? The Decline of the Constitutional Convention in New York and Other US States, 1776\u20132015<\/a>).<\/strong>\u00a0 Most of the no campaign money is expected to be spent on advertising after Oct. 23, 2017, when the money does not have to be publicly disclosed until after the Nov. 7 referendum.\u00a0 Given the reliance of the yes campaign on funding from William Samuels, the question arises whether he has the motive and means to match yes campaign contributions as the referendum approaches and expenditures increase.<\/p>\n Following the pattern in other states, the no campaign is primarily funded by organizations and the yes campaign by individuals.\u00a0 As a rule, organizations dependent on the legislature\u2019s goodwill don\u2019t want to take a high-profile position supporting an issue that is both of secondary importance to their organizations and that the legislature\u2019s leadership strongly opposes.<\/p>\n The total amount of money spent on a state constitutional convention referendum has in recent decades primarily been highly correlated with polls indicating the likelihood of the referendum passing.\u00a0 When there is a risk of it passing, no campaigns will raise and spend whatever it takes to win. Yes campaigns, in contrast, have not demonstrated the financial capacity to keep up.\u00a0 The highest expenditures occur when the yes campaign is ahead in the polls heading into the last month before a referendum.<\/p>\n The contributions reported to the State Board of Elections should be treated with skepticism.\u00a0 Many types of campaign contributions don\u2019t need to be disclosed, including expenditures on organizational staff and member communications.\u00a0 This gives large-member, wealthy organizations a decided advantage.\u00a0 The timing of contributions also tends to be influenced by strategic decisions, especially whether to wait until the last few weeks before a referendum when reporting can be delayed until after the referendum.\u00a0 Enforcement has also been rare, politically irrelevant, and the cause of lawsuits in other states (e.g., see Snider, J.H., and Beverly Clay,\u00a0\u2018Dark money\u2019 drives R.I. constitutional convention votes<\/a>,\u00a0Providence Journal<\/em>, June 13, 2014; and Snider, J.H., and Beverly Clay,\u00a0Yes Coalition Files Complaint with Board of Elections; BOE Rules on Complaint<\/a>, \u00a0RhodeIslandConCon.info<\/em>, October 31, 2014).\u00a0 It is almost impossible to verify how much staff time, office space, and other resources are devoted to constitutional convention campaigning in a large organization that pursues many tasks. \u00a0A notable item of discretion is in-kind contributions. For example, NY People\u2019s Convention PAC reported more than five times the in-kind contributions for office space as New Yorkers Against Corruption. More than one-third of NY People\u2019s Convention PAC’s contributions were in-kind contributions.<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n *Restrict & Regulate in NYState 2019 filed a report after the New York State Board of Elections closed at 5:00 pm on July 17, 2017, which resulted in the Board of Elections delaying the posting of the report. \u00a0Since the report was filed before midnight on July 17 (at 5:01 pm to be exact), it was filed on time. Restrict & Regulate in NYState 2019 reported receipts of $159,967.88, expenditures of $158,405.41, and a balance of $1,562.47. \u00a0Thus, opponents outraised supporters by approximately 2:1, not 3:1.<\/p>\n Schneider, Gabriela, U.S. senators are using the equivalent of carrier pigeons to deliver their campaign finance reports<\/a>, Recode, July 14, 2017.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/newyork.concon.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/New-York-State-Board-of-Elections-Logo-e1500410172791.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>The first set of campaign finance reports for the committees for and against the Nov. 7, 2017 state constitutional convention referendum were published today<\/a>, July 17, 2017, by the New York State Board of Elections.\u00a0 The only activity for opponents was reported by New Yorkers Against Corruption with receipts of $635,300.00, expenditures of $246,410.47, and a balance of $323,489.53.\u00a0 All the money was contributed by unions.The only activity for supporters was reported by NY People\u2019s Convention PAC and the Committee for a Constitutional Convention. The NY People\u2019s Convention PAC had receipts of $162,517.19, expenditures of $161,435.17, and a balance of $1,082.02. Virtually all the money was contributed by William Samuels, the principal of NY People\u2019s Convention PAC.<\/p>\nAddendum<\/h4>\n
Recent Articles on Political Objections to Modernizing Campaign Finance Disclosure<\/h4>\n