People who want to run for public office in New York would have to collect a certain amount of signatures and $5.00 contributions from residents to qualify for funding.  The number of signatures and contributions as proposed are:

              For Assembly      400 Signatures & $5 Contributions

              For Senate         1000 Signatures & $5 Contributions

For AG, Comptroller and Lt. Governor:  10,000

and For Governor     15,000 Signatures & $5 Contributions

That qualifies individuals for FULL PUBLIC FUNDING of their primary and general election campaigns if they agree to the following:

1. Use NO private money, not even their own.
2. Agree to the spending limits of the CLEAN ELECTION law.
3. Participate in a specified number of debates.

That's CLEAN ELECTIONS in a nutshell.

(To read details of the Ortiz/Patterson Bill for CLEAN ELECTIONS in New York, click this link:

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A03453

or go to www.assembly.state.ny.us and type in A3453a or go to www.senate.state.ny.us and type in S3440A).

HOW YOU CAN HELP

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) Where does the money come from?

         The funding would come from lobbying fees, tax return checkoffs, and general revenue.  It would cost $3-$5 per voter (Democracy for about $4.  That's a bargain).

2) Is this constitutional?

          Yes.  This is a voluntary system for candidates and has met all court challenges.

3) Can't a CLEAN candidate be outspent by a wealthy candidate who chooses not to use the system?

          Yes, but the level of public funding has been found to be more than enough to run a good sized campaign.  (Most CLEAN candidates win their contests and they don't spend any time on fund raising!)  Furthermore, the amount is increased if the CLEAN candidate is significantly outspent.