2025A Citywide Elections
Contribution limits apply to all campaigns, whether or not you join the matching funds program. Both monetary and in-kind contributions of goods and services are subject to these limits. All candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from corporations, LLCs, and partnerships. Candidates are prohibited from accepting contributions from political committees not registered with the CFB for the current election cycle. You can view the list of registered political committees for the 2025 election cycle (which also covers the 2025A special election) here.
|
Participant |
Non-Participant |
|---|---|
|
$525 |
$800 |
If an individual contributor has business dealings with the city at the time their contribution is made, lower limits apply, whether the candidate is a participant or non-participant. Doing business contributions are not eligible for matching funds and do not count toward the threshold to receive public funds. Access the Doing Business Database.
|
Doing Business Contribution Limit |
|---|
|
$125 |
Program participants must observe strict spending limits. A spending limit is the maximum total amount a campaign can spend during different periods of an election cycle. For a special election, there is one spending limit for the entire cycle. Non-participants are not subject to a spending limit.
|
Spending Limit |
|---|
|
$228,000* |
* The spending limit for this election has been increased pursuant to Local Law 9 of 2025, which was enacted on January 18, 2025 and is retroactive to March 1, 2024.
If a non-participant raises or spends more than half the applicable spending limit, the spending limit for all participants in that race will be increased by 50%. If a non-participant raises or spends more than three times the applicable spending limit, participants in that race will no longer be subject to a spending limit. The CFB will review disclosure statements to see if expenditure limit relief is warranted and will notify affected campaigns. Candidates may also petition the Board if they believe that a non-participating opponent has triggered expenditure limit relief. Candidates should never assume that their expenditure limit has been increased or suspended unless they receive written confirmation from the CFB.
Program participants must meet this two-part fundraising threshold, abide by Program requirements, and face opposition on the ballot to qualify for public funding. For the office of City Council, only the first $175 of an individual New York City resident’s contribution is applied toward meeting the dollar amount threshold.
|
Minimum Funds Raised |
Number of Contributors |
|---|---|
|
$5,000 |
75* |
* Must be district residents.
Public Funds Matching Rate
The Program matches each dollar a New York City resident gives up to $175 with eight dollars in public funds, for a maximum of $1,400 in public funds per contributor.
| Matching Rate | Maximum Matchable Per Contributor | Maximum Public Funds Per Contributor | Maximum Public Funds* |
|---|---|---|---|
| $8-to-$1 | $175 | $1,400 | $184,000† |
* Approximately 89% of the applicable spending limit.
† The maximum public funds for this election has been increased pursuant to Local Law 9 of 2025, which was enacted on January 18, 2025 and is retroactive to March 1, 2024.
2025A Elections Public Funds Payment Schedule
| Payment Date | Based on Valid Matching Claims Reported in Disclosure Statement(s) Up To: |
|---|---|
| February 13, 2025 | Disclosure Statement #1 (due January 15, 2025) |
| February 28, 2025 | Disclosure Statement #2 (due February 21, 2025) and response to DS #1 statement review with corrected invalid matching claims |
| March 14, 2025 | Response to DS #2 statement review with corrected invalid matching claims |
| March 20, 2025 | Disclosure Statement #3 (due March 14, 2025) |
This public funds payment schedule is tentative and subject to change. Public funds are paid only to candidates eligible for payment based on the Campaign Finance Act and CFB Rules. For more information on public funds eligibility criteria, please see Chapter 6 of the Handbook.