Frequently Asked Questions

It’s the election before the election. In primary elections, you decide which candidate will be your party’s nominee for the general election. You must be a member of a political party to vote in a primary.

Learn more about types of elections

General elections are the championship match, where candidates from different parties compete to win elected office. Winners of primary elections represent their party in the general election. General elections sometimes include ballot proposals, where voters choose whether to adopt new laws or policies.

Learn more about types of elections

Special elections are held when an elected official leaves office before the end of their term. The winner serves in office until the end of that term.

Learn more about types of elections

Right here! To learn more about the candidates on your ballot, just click on “Meet the Candidates” in the navigation up top. You can enter in your address to find which offices will be on your ballot, and a list of candidates running for each office. You can also find profiles submitted by candidates, including videos and more.

Meet the candidates

In primary and special elections for local offices, you can rank up to 5 candidates in order of preference instead of choosing just one.

Learn more about Ranked Choice Voting

You can rank up to five candidates in order of preference, instead of choosing just one. If a candidate receives more than 50% of 1st-choice votes, they are the winner. If no candidate earns more than 50% of 1st-choice votes, then counting will continue in rounds. At the end of each round, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated. If you ranked that candidate 1st, your vote will go to the next highest ranked candidate on your ballot. This process will continue until there are two candidates left. The candidate with the most votes wins.

Learn more about Ranked Choice Voting

Yes! You can still vote for just your 1st- choice candidate. However, ranking other candidates does not harm your 1st choice. If your 1st and only choice is eliminated, your vote will have no influence on the outcome of the election. (You may hear folks call this an “exhausted ballot.”)

Learn how to fill out your Ranked Choice ballot

No. You can rank up to five candidates, but you do not need to rank a total of 5.

Learn how to fill out your Ranked Choice ballot

No. If you rank your preferred candidate more than once (for example as your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th choice), then only your first ranking will count. There is no strategic benefit to giving the same candidate multiple rankings. It doesn’t help them, and it takes away your chance to have a say about who you’d choose next out of the remaining candidates (This is another way your ballot can get “exhausted”).

Learn how to fill out your Ranked Choice ballot

No. You can only choose one candidate for each ranking. If you choose more than one candidate as your 1st choice, your ballot will not be valid.

Learn how to fill out your Ranked Choice ballot

To vote for a candidate whose name is not on the ballot, write their name on the “Write-in” line and fill in an oval to rank your write-in choice.

Learn how to fill out your Ranked Choice ballot

No. Your vote only counts for the highest active candidate on your ballot. Your vote will only count for your 2nd choice if your 1st choice is eliminated, and so on.

Learn how votes are counted with Ranked Choice Voting

If you vote in person, the voting machine will let you know if you give multiple candidates the same ranking. If you make a mistake, you can ask a poll worker for a new ballot. However, the voting machine will not let you know if you skip rankings or rank the same candidate multiple times, since your top-choice vote will still count in those cases.

Learn how to fill out your Ranked Choice ballot

Final results in Ranked Choice elections will not be known until all absentee and military ballots are counted, which could take several weeks after Election Day.

Learn how votes are counted with Ranked Choice Voting

The NYC Board of Elections will share unofficial election results after polls close on Election Day. After they receive all absentee ballots, they will finish counting and release certified final results. You can find election results at the NYC Board of Elections website.

Visit the Board of Elections website

You can request an absentee ballot if you are away from New York City on Election Day, have an illness or physical disability, are a primary care provider for people who are ill or physically disabled, a resident or patient of a Veterans Health Administration Hospital, or if you are imprisoned or awaiting trial. You can mark your reason on your absentee ballot request form.

Request your absentee ballot

If you requested an absentee ballot, then you should plan to vote with it. You can drop off your completed absentee ballot at any voting site while polls are open. However, if you choose to vote in person after requesting an absentee ballot, you will have to vote with an affidavit ballot at your poll site. This ballot will look different. Ask a poll worker for help if you need it.

Learn more about voting by mail

Yes! You can drop off your completed absentee ballot at any NYC poll site. Ballot boxes will be available at the front desk. You can also drop off your ballot at any Board of Elections office. You do not need postage if you are dropping off your ballot.

Learn more about voting by mail

Yes! The Board of Elections’ ballot tracker will let you know the status of your ballot after you submit a request. It will also let you know if they have received your completed ballot and whether it’s valid.

Track your ballot

The Board of Elections is required by law to notify you if there is a curable error on your ballot envelope, such as a missing or incorrect signature. If there is a fixable error on your ballot, they will contact you by mail, email, and phone (if available) within 1 day of discovering the error. You will then have up to 7 days to correct the error by returning a signed affirmation.

Learn more about voting by mail

Sounds strange, but it’s true! You can vote absentee in person at your borough’s Board of Elections office. Offices are open 9am-5pm Monday through Friday, and on the weekend prior to Election Day. This can be a helpful option if you miss the deadline to request a ballot online or by mail. On Election Day offices are open until 9pm.

Find your local Board of Elections office

Yes! If you are permanently ill or disabled and cannot get to your poll site, you can join the Board of Elections permanent absentee ballot list. To join, check the box marked “permanent illness or physical disability” on the absentee ballot application. The Board of Elections will automatically send you an absentee ballot application for every election you are qualified to vote in. 

Request absentee ballotDownload absentee ballot request form

The Board of Elections can receive ballots up to seven days after Election Day. Make sure you postmark before the deadline for your ballot to be valid.

Learn more about voting by mail

You must vote at your assigned early voting site. Your early voting site may be different from your Election Day poll site, so make sure to check before you go!

Find your poll site

You can vote early 10 days before the election day, though hours vary each day. Just like on Election Day, you can visit your early voting site any time polls are open.

Find your poll site

Yes! If you vote in person after requesting or submitting an absentee ballot, your absentee ballot is automatically disqualified. Only your in person vote will count. You do not need to bring your absentee ballot to your poll site.

Yes! You have the right to vote as long as you are a registered voter in line by the time polls close.

Early voting gives voters more flexibility, reduces wait times on Election Day, and eases the burden on poll workers, creating a more pleasant voting experience for everyone!

Early voting was signed into law by the Governor in 2019. It had bipartisan support in the State Senate and Assembly.

You must vote at your assigned poll site on Election Day.

Find your poll site

Polls are open from 6am-9pm on Election Day.

Find your poll site

Yes! You can vote early 10 days prior to the election day, though hours vary each day. Just like on Election Day, you can visit your early voting site any time polls are open.

Find your poll site

Yes! If you vote in person after requesting or submitting an absentee ballot, your absentee ballot is automatically disqualified. Only your in person vote will count. You do not need to bring your absentee ballot to your poll site.

Learn more about Election Day

Yes! You have the right to vote as long as you are a registered voter in line by 9pm on Election Day.

Learn more about Election Day

Maybe, but don’t be surprised if we have to wait a few weeks. The Board of Elections can receive absentee ballots until seven days after Election Day, so the results of some races may not be known until all ballots have been received.

You are eligible to register to vote if you are:

• a U.S. citizen
• a New York City resident for at least 30 days
• at least 16 years old (you can pre-register to vote at 16 or 17, but you must be 18 to vote)

Learn more about registering to vote

If you have a New York State ID, you can register online with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Register to vote online

If you do not have a New York State ID, you can complete a voter registration form and mail it to the Board of Elections. You can also visit your Borough Board of Elections office to register in person.

Download a voter registration form

If you don’t have a New York State ID or a printer, you can digitally fill out a form with TurboVote and have them print and mail it to you, so you can sign and return to the Board of Elections. The platform also works on mobile, so you don’t even need a computer.

Register to vote with TurboVote

You can check your voter registration status, which political party you are enrolled in, and your political district information by using the NYS Voter Lookup tool.

Check your registration

Yes! When you move, you should change your address with the Board of Elections by submitting a new voter registration form. Complete the section labeled “Voting information that has changed” by entering your old address. If you would like to become a member of a political party, or remain a member of your current political party, make sure to select your political party on your registration.

Learn more about registering to vote

No. You do not have to join a political party when you register to vote. However, only members of political parties are eligible to vote in primary elections. So if you’d like to vote in primary elections for a particular party, you should join that party when you register.

Learn more about primary elections

Yes! To update your party affiliation, you must submit a new voter registration form. On your form, make sure to select the political party that you would like to join.

Learn more about registering to vote

If you are currently on probation or parole, you have the right to vote.

• You will likely need to submit a new voter registration form, even if you were previously registered. Register to vote.
• If you were previously registered, you can check your voter registration here.

At your poll site you have the right to:

• Ask a poll worker for help
• Use an interpreter if you need language assistance
• Bring any voting materials with you 
• Vote even if the voting machine is broken
• Vote by affidavit ballot if your name is missing from the list of voters at your polling site
• Not show an ID if you are not a first time voter

Learn more about your voting rights

Yes! You have the right to take two paid hours off from work at the beginning or end of your shift if polls are open for less than 4 hours before your shift starts and after it ends. That means on Election Day, you can take paid time off if you are scheduled to start work before 10am and end work after 5pm. You must notify your employer at least two days before you plan to vote.

Learn more about your voting rights

You can call the NYC Board of Elections about any issues at your poll site. Call 1-866-Vote-NYC (1-866-868-3692).

TTY-212-487-5496

You can contact the Election Protection hotline to speak with a trained Election Protection volunteer and get free legal support. Call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

If you are currently on probation or parole, you have the right to vote.

• You will likely need to submit a new voter registration form, even if you were previously registered. Register to vote.
• If you were previously registered, you can check your voter registration here.

Yes! If you are experiencing homelessness, you can register and vote in New York City. You must include a mailing address where the BOE can send you notices on your registration form.

Ballot Marking Devices are available at all poll sites to help voters fill out their ballots during early voting and on Election Day. These devices can be helpful to voters who are blind, visually impaired, or have a disability or condition that make it difficult or impossible to mark a ballot with a pen. However, any voter can request to use a Ballot Marking Device.

You can use a Ballot Marking Device to see your ballot on a display screen, listen to your choices through headphones, or translate your ballot into additional languages. If you’d like to use a Ballot Marking Device, just ask a poll worker! 

The device provides four ways to mark your ballot:

• Touch screen
• Sip & puff device
• Keypad (Braille)
• Rocker paddle

Learn more about Ballot Marking Devices from the Board of Elections

Yes! As long as they are not your employer or union representative, you can bring someone to help you vote. You can also always ask a poll worker for help.

Learn more about accessibility

Yes! If you are visually impaired or have a disability that requires you to use an accessible version of the absentee ballot that can be read by a screen reader and marked digitally, you may request an accessible ballot from the NYC Board of Elections.

Request an accessible absentee ballot

Yes! The NYC Board of Elections ensures that every poll site in the city is accessible to all voters during early voting and Election Day. If there are any issues with your poll site, you can contact the Board of Elections at 1-866-Vote-NYC (212-487-5496).

Yes, as long as they are not also your employer or union representative. Some poll sites have materials in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Bengali. The languages available at your poll site are based on local Census data.

In addition, interpreters are available at some poll sites to provide assistance in these languages and others, such as Arabic, Haitian Creole, Russian, and Yiddish. You can learn which poll sites offer translators in each language at the Civic Engagement Commission’s website.

Learn more about your rights as a voter

It depends on where you live. By law, New York City ballots and other voting materials are translated into Bengali, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish at certain poll sites based on local Census data.

Contribute will not store your financial information, but credit card transaction information may be stored by the Contribute payment processor, Stripe. Refer to the Contribute Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions for more details.

No, contributions to political campaigns are not tax deductible, whether they are made online or in person.

You are not required to create a Contribute account to contribute to campaigns. You can create an account if you would like to save your personal and credit card information to simplify the process of contributing to a campaign in the future. If you would like to create an account, go to contribute.nycvotes.org/signup, and select the “For Contributors” tab.

If you are a New York City resident and you do not have business dealings with the city, your contribution may be eligible to be matched at an $8-to-$1 rate. That means that a $10 contribution from a NYC resident to a participating candidate could be worth as much as $90 to their campaign. It is the campaign’s responsibility to report your contribution correctly and claim it for matching funds.

Candidates running for local New York City office have the option of using Contribute as their online fundraising platform. When you donate on Contribute, your contribution is sent directly to the campaign’s bank account via the site’s third-party credit card processor, Stripe. Stripe charges the campaign a nominal and standard fee (2.9% + $0.30) for each contribution.

In accordance with the Campaign Finance Board Rules, campaigns are required to report each contributor’s full name, residential address, occupation, employer, and business address. The following information will be publicly disclosed in the Campaign Finance Board’s Follow the Money Database:

• The contributor’s full name.
• The city, state and zip code of the contributor’s residential address.
• The contributor’s occupation and employer.
• The amount, date, and form (cash, check, credit card, etc.) of the contributor’s contribution.

Using the campaign’s contact information listed on the Campaign Finance Board website, reach out to the campaign directly to correct your information. If you are unable to contact the campaign, email contribute@nyccfb.info.

Request a refund directly from the campaign using the campaign’s contact information listed on the Campaign Finance Board website. If you are unable to contact the campaign, email contribute@nyccfb.info.

No. To reduce the risk of campaigns accepting over-the-limit contributions, Contribute does not allow for recurring contributions.

The CFB does not charge campaigns to use Contribute. Stripe, the credit card processor Contribute uses to direct funds to your bank account, charges a nominal and standard fee (2.9% + $0.30) for each contribution. Stripe will deduct the fee from each contribution prior to funds being deposited into your committee’s bank account.

If you had a Contribute account in a previous election cycle, you can simply log in using your existing email and password, then you will be prompted to connect to a Stripe account. If you ran in a previous election, you cannot reuse an old Stripe account. After logging into your Contribute account, you must create a new Stripe account by using an email address that is easily accessible by the candidate, treasurer, and anyone else monitoring your Contribute account, as time-sensitive emails may be sent by Stripe to this email address.   

1.    Sign up at contribute.nycvotes.org/signup
After registering with the CFB, your campaign will have access to Contribute. To create your account, go to contribute.nycvotes.org/signup.

 2.    Create your password
Click the For Candidates tab and enter the email address listed on your CFB registration and a unique password. Only candidates and treasurers are eligible to have a Contribute account.

Best practice: Both the candidate and treasurer should create their own Contribute accounts to receive important communications from Contribute@nyccfb.info.

3.    Agree to the affirmation statement
Review the affirmation statement and click I Agree.

4.    Activate your account and connect with Stripe
You will receive an email, which will prompt you to activate your Contribute account. You must then connect your Contribute account with Stripe, the credit card processor Contribute uses to direct funds to your bank account. Candidates who have run in the past must create a new Stripe account for each election.

After logging into your Contribute account, click the Connect with Stripe button.

After clicking Connect with Stripe, you will be directed to a registration form to create a Stripe account. Your Stripe account is separate from your Contribute account and will be used to process contributions made to your campaign on Contribute to your campaign’s bank account. Some of the information you will need to enter in the registration form includes:

• Business Details: Enter your committee’s information in this section. You will need to complete fields such as:
  • Type of business: Select “Nonprofit Organization”
  • Legal business name: Enter the committee’s name (as disclosed to the IRS and CFB)
  • Business website: If your committee does not have a website, you can use contribute.nycvotes.org for this field
  • Business description: Select “Political Organization”
  • How long after paying will customers typically receive their goods or services?: Select “Within One Day”
• Executive Details: The campaign’s Stripe account should be created by the candidate (strongly recommended), treasurer, or another campaign representative with significant managerial control. The individual who creates the account will be the Stripe account holder and will need to provide personal identifying information. (For example, home address and the last four digits of Social Security Number.)
• Credit Card Statement Details: In this section, you will be able to customize how contributions made to your campaign will appear on your contributors’ bank statements.
  • Statement descriptor: This is the “business name” that will appear on your contributors’ bank statement. You should use the committee’s name to avoid disputes over unrecognized transactions.
  • Support phone number: Enter a phone number that can be used to contact you and your campaign.
  • Customer support address: Use the committee’s address.
• Bank Details: Enter your committee’s bank account number and routing number to set up transfers for contributions received. You must use the same bank account on file with the CFB.
• Two-Step Authentication: Choose one of Stripe’s security methods to protect your account.
• Save your Stripe account: Create your login credentials for your Stripe dashboard. Use these credentials to log in directly at www.stripe.com. You can choose to use the same email address linked to your Contribute account, but it is not necessary.

Click the Authorize access to this account button to complete the registration form for Stripe.

5.    Receive Contribute link
After creating your Stripe account, you will receive an email that confirms that your Contribute account has been connected to Stripe, and that contains your unique Contribute link. This link can be used for promotional materials, campaign flyers and mailings, and social media posts.

Once you have connected your Contribute account with Stripe, your campaign can begin receiving contributions.

Best practice: Have the candidate or treasurer make a small test contribution (which may be matchable) and upload it to C-SMART.

Transfers will occur daily and consist of contributions received two business days prior. Your first transfer may take up to one week to process. You will receive a monthly Stripe account statement from Contribute, which shows the contributions received for the month as well as the month’s total of Stripe processing fees deducted from your contributions.

You can confirm your payout schedule and estimated payout timing in your Stripe Dashboard.

After receiving contributions, you must upload your credit card contribution data and documentation directly into C-SMART. You must perform the upload for contributions to appear in C-SMART; otherwise, your disclosure statement will not include contributions received via Contribute and you will lose the opportunity to claim any eligible contributions for matching funds.

IMPORTANT: Do not manually enter C-SMART contributions received via Contribute. If you notice that a contribution is not uploading correctly into C-SMART, contact your Candidate Services liaison.

1.    Sign in to your campaign’s Contribute account
Go to contribute.nycvotes.org/login and enter your CFB-registered email address and Contribute password.

2.    Enter your C-SMART encryption key
When you log in, you will be automatically directed to the Data section of your account page. Contributions received via Fundraising Events will be included in the total number of contributions that appear under this alert. To upload data from Contribute, enter your C-SMART encryption key in the Encryption Key field and click Upload. Contribute will alert you if you have any contributions that have not been uploaded to C-SMART. You will be able to use the upload function only if there are contributions that have not yet been uploaded to C-SMART.

1.    Review each contribution in C-SMART
Review the Contribute Upload Report in C-SMART to ensure that each contribution was uploaded. For more information on how to access and use this report, review Reports in C-SMART Help. You should also compare the total number of contributions on the C-SMART report to the total number displayed in the Contribute Activity Report, which can be accessed through your Contribute account page. In C-SMART, you can review the backup documentation for each contribution uploaded by Contribute. For more information on viewing this documentation, in Monetary Contribution Documentation in C-SMART Help.

2.    Merge duplicate name records
Uploads from Contribute to C-SMART might create duplicate name records for your contributors in your C-SMART database. This will occur when a name record already exists in C-SMART for someone who donates through Contribute. To ensure accurate disclosure and prevent over-the-limit contributions, you must merge any duplicate name records after each upload. For instructions, see Merge Duplicate Names in C-SMART Help.

3.    Check for over-the-limit-contributions
Review your contributions for any over-the-limit contributions. The easiest way to do this is to generate the Contributions Over the Limit report in C-SMART, which will list all contributions for a contributor whose total contributions have exceeded the contribution limit for the office sought.

4.    Claim eligible contributions for matching funds
Contributions from Contribute are not automatically claimed for match. After each upload, you must enter a matching amount for eligible contributions received through Contribute. For more information on how to edit contributions to claim them for matching funds, see Monetary Contributions in C-SMART Help

Use the Contribute Upload Report in C-SMART to assist you when claiming contributions from Contribute for match. The report contains each contribution’s C-SMART transaction ID and the matching amount. Additionally, the report includes an indicator that tells you whether the matching amount has been updated.

In addition to contributions, you can upload monthly Stripe processing fees directly to C-SMART from your Contribute account page. The fees available to upload will be based on the amount reflected on your monthly account statements, which are emailed to your campaign on the 10th day of each month, and cover activity for the preceding month.

When you log into your Contribute account, you will be automatically directed to the Data section of your account page. To upload Stripe fees, enter your C-SMART encryption key in the Encryption Key field and click Upload.

Note: If there were no contributions received for a given month, there will be no Stripe fees available to upload for that month.

Upon your first upload of Stripe fees to C-SMART, a new name record will be created for Stripe in C-SMART to report the lump sum amount of fees deducted for the month. In C-SMART, you can search for “Stripe – NYC Votes Contribute” to review your newly-uploaded Stripe fees. The amount of fees deducted for the month will be reported as bill and bill payment transactions in C-SMART.

A fundraiser is an event that is organized and sponsored by your campaign. For each fundraiser held by your campaign, you must disclose the following information to the CFB:

• Date of the event
• Location of the event
• List of all contributions received at the event
• Any persons or organization(s) other than the campaign hosting the event
• Itemized list of all expenditures related to the event, whether the campaign or another host paid for them

You can create distinct contribution pages on Contribute for fundraisers organized by your campaign. This will allow you to accept contributions for those fundraisers and simplify the reporting of the event’s name, location, date, and contributions received.

1.    View events and create a new event
From the Fundraising Events tab you can create, view, and manage upcoming and past events.

2.    Enter event details
Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*); Venue Name and Start and End Time are optional fields.

3.    Share event page with supporters
After successfully creating an event, you will be directed to the Share tab found in the event’s administrative page. From here, you will find links to the event page, social media tools to share through different platforms, and HTML codes that can be used to embed the event page on your campaign’s website, emails, and social media pages. The Status of the event will now be Open, meaning contributions can now be collected for this event.

IMPORTANT: After an event has occurred, it should be closed to stop new contributions from being made. From the Edit tab in the event’s administrative page, select Close Event. All contributions received via the Fundraising Event feature must be reported to the CFB within the disclosure period in which the event occurred.

1.    Edit event
If you would like to make changes to an event, from the event’s administrative page select the Edit tab.

From the Edit tab you can update event details and close, open, or delete the event. Deleting an event is only possible if no contributions have been made for that event. This action cannot be undone.

You will receive an email for any modifications made to your event. If event details are modified after the event has been uploaded to C-SMART, use the details in this email to make the necessary changes to the event in C-SMART.

If you accidentally close an event before it has occurred, the event can be re-opened. Contact your Candidate Services liaison if you need to re-open an event.

To customize the contribution amounts for your event page, click on the Tools tab on the event’s administrative page and update the amounts under Custom Amount Tool. Make sure to click Save New Defaults when you’re finished. If you would like to show fewer than five contribution amounts, enter $0 in any of the contribution amount fields. Amounts of $0 will not appear on your fundraising event page.

2.    Manage and view events
Return to the Fundraising Events tab to view your events. Events can be sorted by Event Date and Time, Event Name, Status, and Total Contributions by clicking on each header.

Click Preview to view the event page that will be shared with contributors. To return to the event’s administrative page, click the hyperlinked event name or click the gear icon and select Edit.

3.    Review fundraising events and contributions
From the Contributions tab on the event’s administrative page, individual contributions can be sorted by Date and Time received, Name of contributor, and Amount contributed. From this page, you can also export the list of contributions received through this event page as a CSV file.

Like any other contribution received through Contribute, contributions made to events must be reported within the same disclosure period in which they are received and uploaded directly to C-SMART. Contributions made to events must also be claimed for match like any other eligible contribution.

Note: As with other contributions received in Contribute, Stripe processing fees are deducted from contributions received through fundraising event pages.

From the Data tab of your account page, click Email Contribute Activity Report. You will receive an email with a spreadsheet containing your Contribute financial activity to date.

For prohibited contributions (e.g. corporate or over-the-limit contributions), refunds can be issued via Stripe, certified or bank check, or ACH transfer.

When refunding a prohibited contribution via Stripe, remember that to be considered resolved, the refund cannot be pending and must have cleared your campaign bank account. From your Stripe Dashboard:

1. Find the contribution to be refunded in the Payments overview page.
2. Click the ••• icon to the right of the charge and select Refund charge.
3. Enter the amount to be refunded. The default is a full refund. For a partial refund, enter a different amount to be refunded.
4. Select a reason for the refund. If you select Other, you must provide an explanatory note that is attached to the refund. Note: the reason entered is for your campaign and Stripe’s records only and is not shared with the CFB.
5. Click Refund.

To document the refund in C-SMART, once it has cleared your bank account:

1. While in Stripe, under “Payments - Refunded”, search for your contributor by first name, last name.
2. Identify the specific contribution that was refunded. Click directly on that contribution to open the refund details.
3. Save the entire refund details screen as a PDF by clicking “CTRL+P” and then instead of printing, select “Save as PDF.
4. In C-SMART, add the monetary contribution refund. You can enter “Stripe” as the Check Number.

Upload the entire PDF of your Stripe refund details as your refund documentation in C-SMART. For instructions, see Monetary Contribution Refund Documentation in C-SMART Help.

In the Tools tab of your account page, you will be able to set the contribution amounts that appear on your contribution page. You will also find the HTML code to embed your contribution page on your website, in your campaign emails, and on your social media pages. To set custom contribution amounts for fundraising events, navigate to the Fundraising Events tab and change event contribution amounts on the Tools tab of each event’s administrative page. 

Yes. As a candidate or treasurer, you can access multiple committees from one Contribute login, as long as you are using the same email address on your committees’ CFB registrations. This means that a candidate can fundraise for post-election expenses for one committee, while also fundraising for their next election after registering a new committee. Candidates and treasurers working on more than one campaign can access all committees’ Contribute accounts from a single dashboard using one set of log in credentials.

If you are fundraising for multiple election cycles, note that the list of candidates on contribute.nycvotes.org only includes candidates running in active election cycles. Contribute for post-election fundraising, your name will not appear on this list but the direct link to your contribution page will be accessible from the Tools tab of your committee’s Contribute account.

Note: as with any post-election fundraising or spending, you are required to report contributions received via Contribute as well as monthly Stripe fees with the corresponding periodic disclosure deadline. If you are using Contribute for multiple campaigns simultaneously, you will need to upload data from the Data tab of each campaign’s account dashboard.  

Yes, you may accept contributions from U.S. citizens or permanent residents, even if they live outside of the United States. Only contributions from individual New York City residents are eligible to be matched with public funds.

Contribute helps by collecting the contributor information the CFB requires for compliance and disclosure purposes including employment information, “doing business” status, and the contribution affirmations required by law. Ultimately it is the campaign’s responsibility to ensure the required information for each contribution is accurately reported to the CFB.