Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's request for $2.5 million in public matching funds for his New York City mayoral campaign was rejected Tuesday.
Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesman, said an issue with the campaign's software was to blame.
"We have since fully addressed the software issue and have complied with all requirements and will be submitting the proper documentation to the Board within the one week grace period the board allows to remedy technical issues," Azzopardi said in a statement.
The city's Campaign Finance Board said the Cuomo campaign was denied because it did not meet the threshold for eligible donations and the campaign's documentation had a high amount of errors. Candidates for mayor must raise and properly document at least $250,000 from 1,000 city residents to qualify for public matching funds, City&State reported.
Cuomo raised more than $1.5 million in the two weeks after his campaign launch, Politico reported, raising an additional $1 million in the month after. He had $1.2 million in the bank last month and a superPAC supporting him raised $5 million, Politico said.
The Cuomo campaign has a week to rectify the technical errors, allowing the campaign to receive matching funds on May 12.
On Sunday, the Cuomo campaign sent out an email urging donors to fill out additional paperwork to make sure their donations qualified for matching funds, City & State reported.
"Please look for a separate email coming from Cuomo For NYC Via DocuSign today. We need you to complete the form included in this additional email, TODAY IF AT ALL POSSIBLE," the campaign wrote.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, has also been denied matching funds, due to bookkeeping irregularities. Five other mayoral candidates were approved for the matching funds.
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