How to Run for Office in New York

Thinking about running for office in New York? Ever dream of running for New York City Council? With 13 million registered voters and a political landscape as diverse as its people, New York is one of the most dynamic states to enter politics. But figuring out how to get started can be tough. That’s why we’ve put together this step-by-step guide to help you navigate everything from picking your office to following campaign finance rules. Whether you want to make change at the local, state, or federal level, this guide will help you launch your campaign in the Empire State.

What office should I run for?some text
- How do you know which level of government and position is right for you?
Who am I campaigning against?
How do I get on the ballot?
How do I start my campaign?
New York campaign fundraising rulessome text
- Federal limits:
- State and local limits
Recap

What office should I run for?

If you’re interested in running for office in New York, the first step is figuring out which political office you want to run for.

In New York, you can run for many positions at the federal, state, and local levels:

Federal level: President of the United States, U.S. Senator, U.S. House of Representative
State level: Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, NY State Senator, NY State Assembly Member (among others)
Local level: Mayor, City Council, Borough President, City Clerk, County Executive, Sheriff, District Attorney, and so on

How do you know which level of government and position is right for you?

Well, it depends, in part, on the impact you want to have and what you hope to impact.

At the federal level, you can help shape the federal laws that impact education, healthcare, minimum wage, education, oversight, and more.

At the state level, you can work on policies that impact minimum wage for the state, shape local economies, and ensure state-level healthcare is adequate (e.g., pandemic support). For example, comptrollers help ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively on state and local levels.

At the local level, you can help shape local budgets, city hall, city agencies, laws, and plans for local industry, infrastructure, land use,

general management (e.g., plans to manage forested lots to ensure their continued health and prosperity).

As you can see, you have plenty of options for political seats in New York. What you hope to achieve, the issues you’re passionate about, how much you want to travel, and any other factors will ultimately affect your decision. But that decision starts with reviewing and considering the political offices you might fill.

Who am I campaigning against?

Once you’ve determined what level of office and what issues you’re passionate about working on, you need to answer two questions: who’s currently in that office, and why can you do a better job?

You can search on state and local websites if unsure where to look to see who’s in a specific office. For example, the City of Albany’s website will direct you to your local city council members, the mayor, city council meetings and hearings, and videos of government proceedings. These choices can help you understand the inner workings of your local government and where you might best fit within it.

When you find a public office where you feel like a natural fit and identify your likely opponent, you can look to the person’s official office or campaign site (or even their social media accounts) to see what issues they focus on and promote.

In addition to the policies of the person you’ll be running against, look at how many votes they received and how much cash they raised. First, look at the votes they received in their last election to win the seat. You can find election results information by looking at the 2020 Election Results page on the New York State website. The site offers information on federal, state, and local elections. You’ll find out who ran, who won, and how many votes they received for all elections held that year. You’ll also find links to this same information for previous years.

Fundraising info is also basically at your fingertips. Campaign finance election law requires all candidates to disclose all campaign contributions in the public record. You can look up campaign finance data by candidate on the FEC site. Essentially, this information will give you an idea of what your competition raised in previous elections and what your fundraising goals should look like as you build your campaign.

When you’re staring at those numbers, do you feel like you might have a shot at beating the person?

How do I get on the ballot?

Now that you’ve determined which political office you want to run for, you must figure out when the next election is and what exactly you need to do to qualify for the ballot.

Here are some federal, state, and local resources to help you figure that out:

Ballotpedia can help you determine what federal and state offices are up for election in 2021 and 2022.
New York State’s election website offers many resources to help when you’re interested in running for office, including a political calendar, requirements for each office, and an overview of how to file for your candidacy.
On New York State’s election website, you’ll also find a clickable map that will lead you to the contact information for the election board in your county. Contact the board to help fill in any gaps in your research.

Ultimately, your goal is to get the information you need from resources like those above to get yourself on the ballot as a registered candidate with the New York State Board of Elections for whatever political office you’ve decided to pursue.

How do I start my campaign?

Once you’ve registered as a candidate with the Federal, State, or Local Board of Elections, you’ll need to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN), and open a bank account to start fundraising.

You’ll need a way to collect contributions. Payment processors such as ActBlue and Numero can create contribution pages for you. Still, you’ll also need to keep track of your donor lists, create and maintain call-time schedules, and organize your financial data to make Federal, State, or Local compliance easier. You can do that and more with Donor CRMs such as Numero or NGP.

It also helps to have a compliance team. Hiring consultants specializing in campaign finance law ensures your campaign stays compliant. The New York State Board of Election Compliance can also help ensure your campaign follows campaign finance and election law.

New York campaign fundraising rules

The first thing to know about campaign contribution limits is that they differ depending on your race. Federal, state, and local offices will each have their own limitation rules. Further complicating things is that political contribution limits apply to each type of election, meaning donors can contribute a maximum of these amounts to a primary election, general election, run-off, and special election.

But don’t get discouraged! Below, we break down the contribution limits for different levels of office in New York State.

Federal limits:

FEC contribution limits are a bit more straightforward than state breakdowns. At the federal level, many more distinctions are made between what type of donor who is donating to what type of political organization, compared to the state level. These distinctions exist because, on a national level, donations can flow from individuals, from other political campaigns, and from PACs.

The FEC contribution limits are as follows:

A table of the FEC’s federal contribution limits

State and local limits

When you’re running for office in New York State, the campaign contribution limits vary depending on the office you’re running for and the area you’re running in. Amounts also vary depending on whether you’re in the primary or general election AND whether the donor is a member of your family.

Here’s a quick overview of how these limits are defined at the state level in New York:

A table showing the state and local contribution limits for New York state’s elected offices

This list isn’t comprehensive, so it doesn’t cover all contribution limitations—but it gives you a broad idea. For more information on all limitations, visit the New York elections website.

Also note that, in New York, “family” contributions are calculated based on the total of all family donations. The number doesn’t represent what each member of a candidate’s family can contribute. It represents what the candidate’s ENTIRE family can collectively donate.

Remember that all New York state and local election contribution limits follow the formula highlighted in the chart above. The contribution limits are calculated by multiplying the number of active registered voters for your party by $0.05 (or $0.005, depending on the office) for non-family members and by $0.25 (or $0.025, depending on the office). The number of voters can be counted by state, city, or district, depending on the political office in which you seek a seat.

Notably, there is a floor for the maximum contribution limit for each type of office and election, meaning people from areas with lower populations are guaranteed a certain amount of funding for their elections. For example, if you’re running for Mayor or city hall in a town with a small population or small voter representation for your party, your maximum contribution limit would be $1,250 per individual, even if the formula used by the state yields a lower number.

Likewise, a place with a higher population, like New York City, will cap the contribution limits for a Mayoral candidate to $100,000 per individual, even if the formula yields a higher number. It’s confusing. Consult your local Elections Board or hire a compliance firm to help you navigate the system.

The table below offers a breakdown of a couple of different cities to give you an idea of what contribution limits by city look like in numbers:

A table that shows how contribution limits will look, city by city in New York

Contact the New York State Board of Elections for campaign contribution limit information for your specific area.

Knowing your competition and contribution limits in New York will help you start running for office. Why? Well, this information will be instrumental in helping you shape a realistic campaign budget and build a fundraising schedule to help you reach your goals on election day. Good luck!

Recap

Armed with the information and resources detailed throughout this guide, you’re ready to kick off your campaign and run for political office in New York State.

To recap, here’s what you need to do: