Did Cuomo’s ‘Message for Voters’ Violate Campaign Finance Rules?

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo may be violating New York City campaign finance rules that prohibit candidates from coordinating political strategy and spending with the super PACs supporting them.

The issue is potentially serious for Mr. Cuomo, the Democratic front-runner for mayor. If found in violation of the rules, he could face stiff penalties and potentially lose out on millions of dollars in public matching funds.

At issue is a practice commonly known as red-boxing, in which candidates post strategic information in a public, if obscure, location where big money groups supporting them can see it. Doing so allows the two sides to get around rules prohibiting them from directly communicating.

Mr. Cuomo appears to have done just that when he launched an innocuous-looking page on his campaign website in late April. While it was labeled a “message for voters,” the page reads much more like detailed spending instructions for Fix the City, a super PAC created to raise and spend huge sums on his behalf, or other groups.

The almost 600-word message cites recent polling data and includes pre-edited video clips of Mr. Cuomo that could be dropped into ads. It also lists four steps that will be “critical for success,” including an ad telling Jewish voters about Mr. Cuomo’s record on antisemitism, door-to-door canvassing in Black and Latino neighborhoods and the need for “less traditional” media to reach to voters between 40 and 55.

While the practice remains legal on the federal level, New York City quietly adopted rules late last year taking direct aim at red-boxing — a term that refers to the frequent use of red-bordered boxes to highlight the instructions. City regulators have warned that the practice may effectively undermine the strict limits on fund-raising and spending by campaigns.