Disclose Outside Money On NYC Ballot Measures, Says Councilman

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A funny thing happened after New York City enacted strict disclosure requirements for campaign spending on candidates: high-dollar donations to politicians plunged but ticked way up for ballot measures.

So said Councilman Brad Lander in a Thursday announcement about his proposed bill to require disclosure on outside spending that could sway ballot propositions.

The bill will require any outside spending more than $1,000 to be reported to the city's campaign finance board, the announcement states.

It also will name names — any entity that spends more than $5,000 must disclose identifying information about major donors and any group's campaign communication materials will need to identify their top three donors.

Lander, who represents Park Slope, said the bill will work hand-in-hand with the city's post-Citizens United campaign spending disclosure law.

"We’ve already seen evidence that it is working to reduce opaque spending to promote or oppose candidates," he said in a statement. "Now, we’re taking the next step to bring the same transparency to ballot propositions on the other side of the ballot."

Three outside groups spent a combined $1.3 million on 2019 ballot measures, the Gotham Gazette reported. Most of that money came from the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC, which supported — you guessed it — a ballot question that established ranked-choice voting in some elections, the Gazette reported.