New York’s Public Campaign Finance Program and the Requirement to Debate
By: Joseph T. Burns
While New York State’s public campaign finance program was first in effect for the 2024 election, only candidates for State Senate and Assembly were able to participate in the program that year. New York’s statewide offices – Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller and Attorney General – were not on the ballot in 2024; candidates for these offices will, for the first time, be able to receive public matching funds in the 2026 election cycle.
The matching fund program is, for the most part, no different for candidates running for state legislature or statewide office. There is, however, one major difference: statewide candidates in the public matching funds program are mandated to participate in a debate sanctioned by the Public Campaign Finance Board (PCFB).
The public campaign finance program was enacted into law in 2020. The program is administered by the PCFB, a board comprised of seven commissioners: the four commissioners of the New York State Board of Elections (NYSBOE), one commissioner appointed by the Republican leaders of the state legislature, one commissioner appointed by the Democratic leaders of the state legislature, and one commissioner appointed by the Governor.
Under the Election Law, the PCFB is required to establish regulations to enable debates for statewide candidates participating in the public campaign finance program. The statute requires that candidates receiving public matching funds participate in one debate for every election in which they receive public matching funds. While the statute requires candidates receiving public matching funds to participate in a debate, it does not preclude candidates running in that same contest who do not receive public matching funds from also participating in the debate.
The PCFB is empowered to select one or more debate hosts from those entities that have applied to host a debate. Entities that host debates are prohibited from being owned or controlled by partisan or political entities, and those applying to host debates are required to certify to the PCFB that they meet the nonpartisan and nonpolitical criteria set forth in the PCFB regulations.
In applying to host debates, the entity must state to the PCFB the statewide contests for which it seeks to host a debate. The applying entity is also required to describe its format, rules, and likely topics to the PCFB.
Before making a selection on debate hosts, the PCFB is required to solicit and accept comments from candidates and other interested parties on the fitness and qualifications of the potential debate hosts. Should the PCFB determine that multiple host applicants are acceptable, the PCFB, through a random drawing, will select one.
This debate host selection process is slightly different for pre-primary debates. For pre-primary debates, the candidates, if the PCFB determines that multiple debate hosts are acceptable, are given the opportunity to agree on a debate host and inform the PCFB of that selection before a random drawing is conducted to determine the debate host.
The date, time, and location of PCFB-sanctioned debates are, under the PCFB regulations, set by the debate host. However, the debate host must consult with and receive the approval of the PCFB before establishing debate dates, times, and locations. PCFB regulations require that debates be held no earlier than five weeks before and no later than one week before early voting, and the debates must be broadcast and streamed on the Internet. Under the debate regulations adopted by the PCFB, the sanctioned debates must last for at least one hour.
Candidates required to participate in the PCFB-sanctioned debates are not barred from participating in other debates held during the course of the campaign. And, while candidates not participating in the public matching funds program may participate in these debates, their nonparticipation in the debate has no impact on the debate being held.
Candidates required to participate in the debates who fail to participate could face severe penalties. Under the PCFB regulations, candidates who fail to participate could be found to be ineligible to receive any additional matching funds for the election and may also face PCFB fines and penalties. Candidates, however, may challenge these determinations at a hearing.
In the weeks ahead, the PCFB will conduct its process for determining what entity will host this year’s primary and general election debates. Given that nearly all the candidates seeking statewide office this year have opted to participate in the public campaign finance program, voters are likely to see a number of 2026 candidates debate the issues important to the New Yorkers at the PCFB-sanctioned debates.
