The 2019 City Council District 45 Special Election: Campaign Finance Deadlines, Limits, and Thresholds
03/22/2019
The NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) announces the campaign finance deadlines, limits, and public matching funds thresholds for the special election in City Council District 45 (Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood, and Canarsie) following the mayor's proclamation to hold a special election in this district on May 14. Refer to election cycle "2019B" on the CFB's website for more information.
April 3 is the deadline for special election candidates to certify for participation in the Campaign Finance Program. Candidates must submit their first campaign finance disclosure statements by April 12. Refer to the table below for a full list of dates and deadlines
| Statement Number | Filing Deadlines | Disclosure Periods |
| April 3, 2019 | Certification Deadline | |
| 1 | April 12, 2019 | Beginning of Fundraising – April 8, 2019 (32 day pre-special) |
| 2 | May 3, 2019 | April 9, 2019 – April 29, 2019 (11 day pre-special) |
| DAILY | April 30, 2019 – May 13, 2019 | |
| May 14, 2019 | Special Election | |
| 3 | June 10, 2019 | April 30, 2019 – June 6, 2019 (27 day post-special) |
| 4 | July 15, 2019 | June 7, 2019 – July 11, 2019 (July 2019 periodic) |
As was the case in the Public Advocate special election, and for the upcoming off-year election cycle, the improved matching funds program adopted by voters in November 2018 will apply to the District 45 special election. Under these new regulations, New York City’s matching funds program provides public funds to qualifying City Council candidates at a matching rate of $8-to-$1 for the first $175 contributed by city residents. That means that a $10 contribution is worth $90 to a qualifying candidate. Candidates will be able to choose to participate in the old program, which matches contributions at $6-to-$1.
To qualify for public matching funds in the District 45 special election, candidates must receive a minimum of $5,000 in match-eligible contributions (only the first $175 of a New York City resident's contribution counts towards the threshold). Additionally, candidates must receive match-eligible contributions from 75 residents of District 45. Candidates must comply with all program rules, including the prohibition on contributions from corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships, to be eligible for public funds.
A special election was called for District 45 as a result of Council Member Jumaane Williams winning a nonpartisan special election for Public Advocate held in February 2019. According to campaign finance filings submitted to the CFB, public matching funds payments accounted for more than 73 percent of the funds available to candidates on the special election ballot. The most common contribution amount in this election was $10, compared to $100 in previous Public Advocate elections.
Whichever candidate wins the District 45 special election will serve out the remainder of the current year. District 45 voters will also vote for the City Council seat in the off-year election cycle, which will include a primary election in June and a general election in November. The winner of the general election will serve beginning in January 1, 2020, for the remainder of the current term ending in 2021.
City law also requires outside groups that are independent from campaign committees to disclose election-related expenditures to the CFB. View the updated calendar for these disclosures on the CFB website.