NYPIRG Criticizes State Board of Elections on Lack of Enforcement Activity

The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) issued a press release today criticizing the New York State Board of Elections (SBOE) for its shortcomings in terms of enforcement.

NYPIRG notes that 2,328 active political committees failed to file their July 2012 reports, estimating that these groups collectively have over $31 million in their accounts.

From the release:

“Every year, hundreds of donors give more money than is allowed by state law that has highest limits of any state  capping donation size; scores of candidates fail to disclose large contributions received in the run-up to Election Day; thousands of filings obfuscate the identity of donors or the purpose of expenditures through the inclusion of incomplete or incorrect information; and dozens of incumbent lawmakers spend campaign funds for what reasonable people would unanimously agree are non-campaign reasons.”

NYPIRG’s criticisms are based on the responses it received to two Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests that it filed, which revealed that SBOE’s enforcement actions over the past five years have resulted only in “modest fines” imposed on campaign committees that have filed their disclosure reports late.

NYPIRG blames the lack of enforcement by the SBOE on recent budget cuts and its “inherently partisan structure.”