Summer 2012, No.

23
New York City Campaign Finance Board
Father Joseph P. Parkes, S.J. Chairman Art Chang Richard J. Davis Courtney C. Hall Mark S. Piazza Board Members Amy M. Loprest Executive Director Elizabeth Bauer Chief of Administrative Services Daniel Cho Director of Candidate Services Shauna Tarshis Denkensohn Director of Operations & Budget Sue Ellen Dodell General Counsel Eric Friedman Director of External Affairs Peri Horowitz Director of Campaign Finance Administration Onida Coward Mayers Director of Voter Assistance Kenneth OBrien Director of Systems Administration Julius Peele Director of Auditing & Accounting Jesse Schaffer Director of Special Compliance Elizabeth A. Upp Director of Communications District 13 6 8 7 16 9 5 U.S. Senate

NYC Voter Turnout Dips in Congressional Primaries

The 2012 Congressional primary elections saw voter turnout in New York City reach a new low. Seven Congressional districts held Democratic primaries, and Republicans voted to select a nominee for U.S. Senate. Overall, fewer than one in ten only 9.7 percent registered voters eligible to cast a primary ballot made their voices heard on June 26. The highest turnout citywide came in a highly publicized race between Charles Rangel and Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District covering Harlem, Washington Heights and parts of the Bronx, where 15.5 percent of registered Democrats cast ballots. In Queens 6th District, 15.4 percent of registered Democrats gave Grace Meng a victory in another closely-watched election, giving her the opportunity to become New Yorks first
(continued on page 2)

Voter Turnout in 2012 Congressional Primaries, New York City Party Borough(s) D D D D D D D R M/Bx Q Bk/Q M/Bk/Q Bx Bk Q All Total
(I) denotes incumbent. * includes spending across New York State. Sources: Federal Election Commission; New York City Board of Elections; New York State Board of Elections. Portions of Congressional Districts 5 and 16 lie outside of New York City. Voter turnout data for this analysis reflects turnout only in New York City.

No. of Candidates 5 4 2 4 2 2 4 3

Total Spending (all candidates) $ 2,143,739 $ 1,948,481 $ 1,073,529 $ 1,355,526 $ 854,967 $ 571,090 $ 630,338 $ 2,807,011* $ 11,384,681

Winner Charles Rangel (I) Grace Meng Hakeem Jeffries Nydia Velazquez (I) Eliot Engel (I) Yvette Clarke (I) Gregory Meeks (I) Wendy Long

NYC Turnout 15.5% 15.4% 14.2% 13.0% 7.8% 6.3% 6.0% 4.1% 9.7%

Peggy A. Willens Director of Management Analysis & Records Administration Matt Sollars Press Secretary Bonny Tsang Press Aide Austin Rose Press Intern FULL DISCLOSURE Summer 2012, No. 23 40 Rector Street, 7th Fl. New York, NY 10006 www.nyccfb.info Questions/Comments 212.306.7100 press@nyccfb.info

FULL DISCLOSURE

An important part of the CFBs mission is to provide access to information about money in city politics. Our Searchable Database is the most comprehensive resource for members of the public to find the details on how candidates raise money and how they spend it.

Whos Trending on the CFB Searchable Database? news from the

Top Searches in the CFB nyc campaign nance Searchable Database board
January 1 21, 2012 July 1 21, 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 John C. Liu Christine C. Quinn Bill de Blasio Scott M. Stringer William C. Thompson, Jr. Julie Menin Daniel R. Garodnick Carlo A. Scissura Domenic M. Recchia Helen K. Rosenthal Christine C. Quinn Bill de Blasio John C. Liu Letitia James Anthony D. Weiner Scott M. Stringer Corey Johnson Julie Menin Ken C. Biberaj William C. Thompson, Jr.

We reviewed searches in the database during the weeks before and after each filing date to see which candidates are drawing the most interest. For comparison, we provided our analysis for the January 2012 filing.

NYC Voter Turnout Dips in Congressional Primaries (from page 1)

Asian American Congresswoman. Still, even in the most interesting races across New York City in June, nearly 85 percent of voters stayed home. Notably, only 4.1 percent of registered New York City Republicans cast a ballot in a contested, statewide primary election to select their nominee for U.S. Senate. Even these low voter turnout results conform with a long-standing truth: competitive races often result in higher turnout. While it is often difficult to know exactly how close the results will be before votes are cast, one way to show perceived competitiveness is through campaign spending. Elections with two or more strong candidates should show greater spending totals than races with a single, unchallenged candidate. The chart on page one shows spending in each of the contested primary races in New York City, ranked by voter turnout. The four races with a turnout of 13 percent or greater each attracted at least a million dollars of spending, while those races that saw less spending also saw lower turnout. This years turnout of 9.7 percent is lower than the last Congressional primary in 2010, in which 12.1 percent of registered party members cast ballots. Some people have suggested the low turnout is due to the June date of the primary, being rescheduled from its traditional September date. The June date, ordered by a federal judge, complies with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which requires sufficient time between the primary and general elections for general election ballots to be mailed to military and other voters living overseas. While there was media coverage of the change, voters were not informed of the new election date by mail. Whatever the cause, the low voter turnout rate represents a challenge for everyone who cares about democracy in New York City. With important elections coming in 2012 and 2013, it is important that all New Yorkers make their voices heard. The map can also be viewed in an interactive format on the CFB website.

June 2012 Congressional Primary Voter Turnout in New York City by District

Turnout is defined as the number of ballots cast in each primary divided by the number of active enrolled voters in the primarys political party within each district. Prepared by Austin Rose for the NYC Campaign Finance Board, August 7, 2012 Data obtained from ESRI, NYC Department of City Planning, NYC Board of Elections, and NYS Board of Elections

NYC Votes! Wants You to Vote

With Election Day just six weeks away, NYC Votes! has a full slate of voter registration and education events to encourage New Yorkers to head to the polls on November 6th. On September 25, the Youth Voter Registration Jam, co-hosted by Hot 97, Voto Latino, and featuring Rosario Dawson, will bring together hundreds of young New Yorkers from across the city on the campus of Lehman College in the Bronx. Musical performances by Hot 97 DJs and artists, contests and giveaways will highlight the importance of registering and voting. The event coincides with National Voter Registration Day. For more details and to receive updates, visit our Facebook event page and click join. In addition to registering and informing voters about elections, NYC Votes! also conducted research on why registration and voter participation is so low in New York City an important first step to addressing the problem. The Who Votes? report, released in June, explored the problem using Census data to better understand demographic factors at work in lowturnout neighborhoods. We found that areas with high residential turnover have lower voter turnout. Areas with high numbers of naturalized citizens also have lower voter turnout. Our new interactive maps showing turnout in the Congressional districts are another part of this effort (see NYC Voter Turnout piece in this newsletter.) Finally, NYC Votes! has been advocating for changes to election law that will make it easier for New Yorkers to participate in their democracy. Voter Assistance Advisory Committee Chairman Art Chang testified before the City Council twice to urge the common-sense use of technology to improve the voter experience. One change we have called for is online voter registration, so we welcomed the announcement from Governor Andrew Cuomo that New Yorkers with drivers licenses or a state-issued ID can now register to vote online through the NYS Dept of Motor Vehicles website. NYC Votes will continue encouraging New Yorkers to register to vote and to head to the polls as the November election and the 2013 citywide election draws closer.

TIP OF THE MONTH

from CFB Candidate Services

What is C-SMART?
C-SMART is the CFBs proprietary financial reporting software used by all candidates running for the five CFB covered offices. The latest version of C-SMART is a web-based application that campaigns use to record financial activity and submit disclosure statements to the CFB and New York State Board of Elections (BOE). It is available free of charge to all campaigns upon registration with the CFB. Previously, C-SMART was available as a desktop program that was installed on your campaigns computer. Now, C-SMART can be accessed online from any computer with an Internet connection and by logging into your C-Access account. The new C-SMART provides a number of advantages: Multiple users can simultaneously log-in to C-SMART, through their web browser. Automatic service upgrades eliminate the need for campaigns to manually download updates. New interface allows for more streamlined and user-friendly data entry. Disclosure statements to the CFB and BOE are generated separately A unique encryption key securely stores data on protected servers so that it is no longer necessary to independently backup your database. All campaigns registered for the 2013 election cycle must submit the January 2013 disclosure statement using the new C-SMART. If your campaign has not upgraded to the latest version, contact your Candidate Services Unit (CSU) Liaison today! What is C-Access? In addition to serving as your campaigns gateway to C-SMART, C-Access is the CFBs interactive website that provides secure online access to campaign information. Through C-Access, your campaign receives notices regarding compliance and public funds eligibility, including pre-election statement reviews and post-election audits. Your campaign can also track the status of each disclosure statement submission and monitor progress towards meeting the public funds threshold. Candidates and treasurers who supply their email addresses on their CFB registration automatically receive a username and password for C-Access. Additional accounts can be created for campaign managers, consultants, or liaisons upon request by the candidate or treasurer. In C-Access, under Help, select Request Additional Accounts or contact your CSU Liaison at 212-306-7100 or CSUmail@nyccfb.info.

RECENT BOARD ACTIONS (June 2012 September 2012)

Penalty Determinations
Candidate Carlton Berkley Carlos A. Bristol Ashok Chandra Leroy G. Comrie Salim Ejaz Mathieu Eugene Sara M. Gonzalez Anthony L. Herbert Vincent M. Ignizio Allan W. Jennings Melinda R. Katz Kevin D. Kim Manuel Lantigua Jacques M. Leandre Prince D. Lewis Carlos Sierra Calvin C. Solomon William C. Thompson, Jr. Harpeet S. Toor Ruben Dario Vargas Manny C. Velazquez
1

Election 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Nov. 2010 Special 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Nov. 2010 Special 2009 2009

Office Sought CD #09 CD #42 CD #04 CD #27 Comptroller CD #40 CD #38 CD #41 CD #51 CD #28 Comptroller CD #19 CD #07 CD #31 CD #42 CD #16 CD #08 Mayor CD #28 CD #10 CD #10

Penalties $1,839 $4,566 $5,350 $16,272 $6,500 $4,666 $4,700 6,099 $1,8021 $2,493 $8,365 $2,6751 $11,055 $5851 $4,803 $1751 $957 $17,020 $750 $550 $1,150

Candidate paid penalties in full.

To receive email updates from the CFB, including press releases, voter assistance news, and campaign finance news and analysis, sign up here. For Campaign Finance Board news and updates, follow us on Twitter: @NYCCFB. For information about the CFBs voter outreach and education efforts, follow @NYCVotes! on Twitter and Facebook.
Voter Assistance Advisory Committee

RECENT BOARD ACTIONS (continued)

Public Funds Repayments
Candidate Carlos A. Bristol Mathieu Eugene Sara M. Gonzalez Ruben Dario Vargas Manny C. Velazquez Election 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 Office Sought CD #42 CD #40 CD #38 CD # 10 CD #10 Repayments $5,610 $3,334 $1,593 $234 $411

In addition, 2009 candidates Leroy G. Comrie CD #27 and Manuel Lantigua CD #07 are required to repay the balances remaining in their campaign bank accounts. Vincent M. Ignizio CD #51 and Carlos Sierra CD #16 have repaid their remaining bank balances.

Post-Election Public Funds Payments

Candidate Melinda R. Katz William C. Thompson, Jr. Election 2009 2009 Office Sought Comptroller Mayor Payments $14,573* $444,029*

* Penalties assessed by the Board were deducted from the candidates public funds payment.

Whats New at the CFB?

The 2013 citywide elections are just a year away. The CFB is preparing by providing candidates with new software and by making many other resources available to ensure New Yorkers are well-informed and fully engaged in city elections. Filing Day This summers Filing Day was the fifth of the 2013 election cycle. 101 candidates filed by July 16, 2012. The CFBs searchable database generated 25 percent more traffic in the month of July than during the filing period in January 2012, demonstrating that interest is growing in campaigns financial activity as the election comes closer. The CFB created new maps to depict the distribution of contributions throughout New York City through July 11, 2012. Candidates have reported raising a total of $30.7 million for the entire 2013 election cycle. Currently, there are 110 active candidates registered for the 2013 election. The next disclosure deadline is January 15, 2013. C-SMART This summer marked the introduction of the new, webbased version of C-SMART, which is the CFBs own software that allows candidates to file disclosure statements with the CFB and the State Board of Elections. All campaigns will be using the new C-SMART by the end of the year. See the Tip of the Month for more information. Special Election Before the 2013 election cycle ramps up in earnest, voters will decide a special election for City Council District 12 in the Bronx. The election will be held on November 6. Eight candidates have registered to run in the special election, seven of whom have joined the Program. The first disclosure statement is due Friday, October 5, 2012. This will also be the first election for which the citys new independent expenditure disclosure rules will be in effect. Special elections have different limits and requirements; see below for more information.

Council District #12 Special Election Limits and Requirements

Contribution Limit Doing Business Contribution Limit Spending Limit Threshold Minimum Funds Raised Threshold Minimum Number of Contributors $1,375 (matched up to $87) $125 $168,000 $5,000 75 District 12 residents ($10 minimum contribution)

Crystal Choy: Communicating the CFBs Mission to the World

A native of Chinatown, Crystal Choy started working at the Campaign Finance Board in 2003. After a year in the Audit Unit, she moved to the agencys Communications Unit. She worked on the CFBs Voter Guides for the 2005 and 2009 elections and has designed hundreds of forms, PDFs, and other documents that help candidates and the CFB to work more efficiently. of the most recognizable aspects of the CFBs work and I am proud to be a part of its production. Crystal was recognized as the CFBs Outstanding Employee earlier this summer, and in August she was promoted to Production Manager. Executive Director Amy Loprest said, Crystal is multi-talented, working in different units over the years and on various projects. She has been an invaluable resource to the agency, helping out whenever and wherever she is needed. Before joining the CFB, Crystal was program director at a nonprofit in a Chinatown youth program. In her free time, Crystal eats at Chinatowns Excellent Pork Chop House with friends, participates on a lion dance team, or takes a Kettlebell kickboxing class.

Crystal Choy

Currently, Crystal is working on the 2013 Voter Guide, to be published next year. The yearlong process includes vendor solicitation, workflow management, designing and placing external advertisements and eventually, distribution of the printed Guides. The Voter Guide is one

The CFB thanks its summer interns for all the great work theyve done!

From left to right (front row): Claritza Cruz (Voter Assistance), Swathi Krishnan (Communications), Antoinette Fuoto (Legal), Cindy Alemany (Records Management), Rebecca Liu (Voter Assistance) From left to right (back row): Nyida Farrell (Voter Assistance), Bill Toth (Legal), Austin Rose (External Affairs), Carlos Laureano (Voter Assistance), Siyu (Rayna) Guo (Candidate Services), Ishmael Islam (Voter Assistance), Jennifer Kolsch (Records Management)