Overview
- The Appellate Division on Thursday unanimously revived Blakeman’s bid for public matching funds and affirmed a lower-court order giving his campaign a short window to correct defects in its application.
- Judges faulted the Public Campaign Finance Board for implementing new joint-ticket rules without creating a joint certification form, issuing guidance, or training candidates on the changed filing process.
- The board initially disqualified Blakeman because his running mate, Todd Hood, had not separately filed under the board’s strict interpretation, a March 23 decision that was split 4-3 along party lines.
- Restoring access could make available roughly $3.5 million in matches to Blakeman’s campaign at a time when Gov. Kathy Hochul is not in the program and holds a large fundraising lead.
- The board may seek review from the New York Court of Appeals, and the dispute highlights broader concerns about how the new joint-ticket public financing rules were rolled out and enforced.