Education and Support

The Compliance Unit is responsible for assisting treasurers and candidates the entire way through the campaign financial disclosure process. This is accomplished in a variety of ways. The Compliance Unit has a dedicated Call Center which is vital in helping candidates and treasurers navigate registration, contribution limits, filing, seminars, continuing legal education, continuing professional education for accountants and webinars on a variety of Campaign Finance topics. This is done to better educate filers on campaign finance obligations. The Unit also conducts compliance reviews on all itemized filings.

The Unit provides filers with a Call Center that can answer a variety of Election Law and campaign finance questions. This is a very useful tool for candidates and treasurers. The Call Center is operational Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. to 4:45 P.M.

Contact us by phone: (518) 474-8200 or 1-800-458-3453

Contact us by email: CFInfo@elections.ny.gov

NYSBOE has an ITU Help Desk that can assist filers experiencing technical issues with the EFS Web Application. The ITU Help Desk is operational Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. to 4:45 P.M.

Contact us by phone: 518-473-4803

Contact us by email: support@elections.ny.gov

The Unit travels the State and provides seminars, continuing education and webinars to filers looking for information on campaign financial disclosure requirements. Topics include:

Annual Campaign Finance Updates: Annual Campaign Finance Update training by the New York State Board of Elections Compliance Unit 

• Register for Campaign Finance Update Training Webinar

The following Campaign Finance Update webinars have been scheduled for 2024:

• Wednesday, May 1, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Monday, May 20, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Friday, June 7, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Thursday, June 13, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Monday, June 24, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Monday, July 8, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Thursday, July 25, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Monday, August 5, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Tuesday, September 3, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Wednesday, September 25, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Each of these webinars will include an identical presentation on campaign financial disclosure requirements as defined in New York State Election Law. We are pleased to offer these various options to fit into your schedule. Conducted by the New York State Board of Elections' Training Unit, this webinar is designed to assist candidates and committees in understanding NYS Election Law and the disclosure process.

Pre-registration is REQUIRED for these webinars. Each webinar will be conducted using Webex. Prior to the event, you will receive an email invitation from us to attend the webinar via Webex. There is nothing that needs to be done when you receive the email; simply have it nearby at the webinar time. You will be able to click to join the meeting right from the email.

All filers - especially new treasurers and candidates - are strongly encouraged to sign up for and attend one of these webinars annually.

**Please note: ONLY 6 of the webinars offer CPE credit for accountants (3.0 credit hours).** If you are an accountant seeking CPE credit, please register for one of the webinars listed below (more dates may be added based on availability):

• Monday, July 8, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Thursday, July 25, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Monday, August 5, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Tuesday, September 3, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Wednesday, September 25, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm

**Please note: ONLY 10 of the webinars offer CLE credit for attorneys (3.0 credit hours of Areas of Professional Practice).** The course is designed for both newly-admitted (transitional) and experienced (non-transitional) attorneys. If you are an attorney seeking CLE credit, please register for one of the webinars listed below (more dates may be added based on availability):

• Tuesday, May 14, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Friday, June 7, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Thursday, June 13, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Monday, June 24, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Monday, July 8, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Thursday, July 25, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Monday, August 5, 2024 - 9:00am - 12:00pm
• Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
• Tuesday, September 3, 2024 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• Wednesday, September 25, 2024 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm

EFS Web Application Training: Training focused on teaching filers to use the Electronic Filing System (EFS) Web Application

• Register for EFS Web Application Training Webinar
• View Training Videos

The EFS Web Application webinars have been scheduled for 2024:

• Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024 - 10:00am – 12:30pm
• Tuesday, June 18, 2024 - 12:00pm – 2:30pm
• Thursday, July 11, 2024 - 10:00am – 12:30pm
• Thursday, August 15, 2024 - 1:00pm – 3:30pm
• Friday, September 20, 2024 - 12:00pm – 2:30pm

Each of these webinars will include an identical presentation. We are pleased to offer these various options to fit into your schedule.

This webinar will focus specifically on the Electronic Filing System - how to set-up your account, use the filer dashboard, enter transaction data, submit and amend reports, and provide other kinds of notices/documentation.

Pre-registration is REQUIRED for these webinars. Each webinar will be conducted using Webex. Prior to the event, you will receive an email invitation from us to attend the webinar via Webex. There is nothing that needs to be done when you receive the email; simply have it nearby at the webinar time. You will be able to click to join the meeting right from the email.

Please note that these webinars will not offer any CPE/CLE credit.
 

Winding Down the Campaign: Guidance on how to wrap up a campaign after Election Day is over

• Winding Down The Campaign 2023

The Unit examines all itemized reports and assists treasurers with meeting reporting obligations. The Unit analyzes statistics on the most common reporting errors and updates its Compliance training series to highlight that information.

Our Unit has compiled the top errors that are made on itemized reports:

• Reimbursements are made to individuals or credit cards without proper itemization. Each transaction in a reimbursement must be individually itemized to disclose what the individual/entity was reimbursed for.
• LLC/PLLC contributions that have not been attributed to all member owners. Any time a committee reports receiving a contribution from an LLC/PLLC, the committee must also provide the attribution to all member owners (full names and addresses), in direct proportion to each member owner's interest.
• A negative opening or closing balance. The committee will be notified of having a negative balance and will be required to reconcile their reports to remedy the issue.
• Cash contributions over $100. Committees are prohibited from accepting more than $100 in cash in the aggregate from a contributor. If a committee accepts more than $100 in cash from a contributor, it must refund the overage to the contributor.
• Missing data. A missing date, name, address, city, state, zip code, or method of payment may generate a deficiency. This complete data is required for all itemized transactions on a disclosure report.
• Loan documentation. Every time a committee receives a loan or forgives a loan, the committee must supply a copy of the letter of indebtedness or letter of forgiveness to NYSBOE. These supporting documents are to be uploaded by the filer directly into the EFS Web Application.
• Conducting Raffles. The NYS Gaming Commission prohibits political committees from conducting raffles. The monies received from a raffle must be refunded to participants (if known) or remitted to the Office of the State Comptroller if the participants are unknown.