Alexandria, VA – The Center for Competitive Politics, America’s largest nonprofit defending First Amendment political speech, issued the following statement today from its President, David Keating:

“Governor Cuomo’s definition of what qualifies as coordination is as preposterous as it is dangerous to free speech. Cuomo wants to throw you in jail if you simply donate to a candidate’s campaign and also an independent group that supports the same candidate. If you give to a candidate and an independent group, the police could come to your home to investigate you for a felony. That’s essentially what Governor Cuomo is proposing.”

“His guidance appears so poorly drafted that if a candidate and independent group even use a common vendor like FedEx to deliver packages, that is evidence of coordination. New York can and should make clear what constitutes coordination, but Cuomo’s guidance makes the problem worse, not better. Under this proposal, speakers will have less guidance and even more reason to worry about a government that wants to shut them up.”