Help us inform New Yorkers about the three important proposals on the ballot this November!
On November 6, city voters will decide three ballot questions adopted by the 2018 Charter Revision Commission. Express your views and help educate your fellow New Yorkers on these important issues. For more details about these questions, read the abstracts linked below, or the Commission’s final report.
Submit your “pro” or “con” statement(s) to be included in New York City’s official online Voter Guide.
Statements received by 5 p.m. on Friday, September 28th will be published in the Guide when it goes live. The FINAL DEADLINE to submit a statement is 5 p.m., Thursday, October 25th.
The Proposals
1) Campaign Finance (Read the abstract for this question)
This proposal would amend the City Charter to lower the amount a candidate for City elected office may accept from a contributor. It would also increase the public funding used to match a portion of the contributions received by a candidate who participates in the City’s public financing program.
In addition, the proposal would make public matching funds available earlier in the election year to participating candidates who can demonstrate need for the funds. It would also ease a requirement that candidates for Mayor, Comptroller, or Public Advocate must meet to qualify for matching funds.
The amendments would apply to participating candidates who choose to have the amendments apply to their campaigns beginning with the 2021 primary election, and would then apply to all candidates beginning in 2022.
Shall this proposal be adopted?
2) Civic Engagement Commission (Read the abstract for this question)
This proposal would amend the City Charter to:
Create a Civic Engagement Commission that would implement, no later than the City Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2020, a Citywide participatory budgeting program established by the Mayor to promote participation by City residents in making recommendations for projects in their communities;
Require the Commission to partner with community based organizations and civic leaders, as well as other City agencies, to support and encourage civic engagement efforts;
Require the Commission to establish a program to provide language interpreters at City poll sites, to be implemented for the general election in 2020;
Permit the Mayor to assign relevant powers and duties of certain other City agencies to the Commission;
Provide that the Civic Engagement Commission would have 15 members, with 8 members appointed by the Mayor, 2 members by the City Council Speaker and 1 member by each Borough President; and
Provide for one of the Mayor’s appointees to be Commission Chair and for the Chair to employ and direct Commission staff.
Shall this proposal be adopted?
3) Community Boards (Read the abstract for this question)
This proposal would amend the City Charter to:
Impose term limits of a maximum of four consecutive full two-year terms for community board members with certain exceptions for the initial transition to the new term limits system;
Require Borough Presidents to seek out persons of diverse backgrounds in making appointments to community boards. The proposal would also add new application and reporting requirements related to these appointments; and
If Question 2, “Civic Engagement Commission,” is approved, require the proposed Civic Engagement Commission to provide resources, assistance, and training related to land use and other matters to community boards.
Shall this proposal be adopted?
Instructions
Each pro or con statement must be about one question only. If you wish to comment on the other questions, you may do so by returning to this page and submitting another statement.
Your statement should express a clear position for or against the question, and include reasons why New Yorkers should vote yes or no. Please limit your statement to 200 words or less.
Statements from individuals must include the individual’s name. Statements submitted anonymously will not be published. When submitting statements on behalf of an organization, please indicate clearly the name of the organization as it should appear, and whether the name and title of the individual submitting the statement should appear in the Guide.