Former Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a significant setback in his attempt to revive his political career as he lost nearly $3 million in public funds during his run for New York City mayor.
According to communications reviewed by the Post, Cuomo’s team disregarded several warnings against using Apple or Google Pay for online contributions. There was an email sent shortly after his campaign launch on March 3rd that stated donations made via these tap-to-pay methods were “unacceptable.” It also indicated that any electronic fund transfers would need a backup affirmation letter to verify each donor’s details.
While the campaign’s lawyers admitted that their setup wasn’t designed to handle mobile or electronic payments, they planned to process them anyway. Political candidates usually seek to register their campaigns with the Campaign Finance Board (CFB) to qualify for New York City’s public funding program, which matches up to $8 for every $1 contributed by New Yorkers, within certain limits.
To be eligible for these matching funds, candidates must complete a detailed process to confirm the donors’ addresses and methods of payment. Numerous reminders were sent to Cuomo’s team throughout the months, highlighting the necessity of providing a signed affirmation for every mobile payment donation.
The CFB made it clear that while campaigns could still accept such contributions, they wouldn’t qualify for public funds if they didn’t meet specific board regulations. Cuomo’s team made efforts to gather affirmations from over 50 donors, but it became evident they wouldn’t obtain all necessary documents in time.
On April 11, shortly before the deadline, the board announced that despite the Cuomo team’s attempts, the contributions facilitated through their online platform would not be matched since donors hadn’t actively agreed to the required online affirmation.
In a last-minute scramble, the campaign sent out emails requesting affirmation letters just two days prior to the April 15 deadline. An email titled “Emergency – Action required” emphasized how crucial it was to return those forms promptly.
Unfortunately, the alert came too late, resulting in Cuomo losing around $2.7 million in matching funds, alongside $332,530 that had been raised.
Following the April 16 deadline, Cuomo’s lawyers made attempts to address the situation and overturn the CFB’s decision. However, the board intensified its warnings regarding electronic payments.
They noted that contributions through NGP Van without proper address verification and postcode checks—specifically for Apple Pay and Google Pay—were not acceptable. The complications seem to persist, potentially jeopardizing future matching funds from the CFB, with the next round due to be released on May 23rd.
Recently, on April 18, Cuomo’s team indicated ongoing struggles with the affirmation process, while trying to find a workable payment solution.
Cuomo’s spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, attributed the loss of most matching funds to “technical software errors” within the campaign. He added that issues with Apple and Google Pay were due to the initial phases of the campaign, suggesting the staff had quickly realized those payment methods were unviable.
