On the day the Public Finance Commission was to hold its final meeting with testimony in Buffalo, a bombshell came from the New York Times: the paper reported that one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's appointees to the group was threatening the existence of groups like the state's Working Families Party (WFP), the Independence Party, and the Conservative Party.

Right now, third parties need 50,000 votes in a gubernatorial election year to remain on the ballot. Jay Jacobs proposed raising that to 250,000 votes.

"I don't know that 250,000 is the critical number. I asked about that number. This was taken out of a leaked document to our attorneys asking a question. I haven't settled on any particular number yet. What I do know is that I am going to propose a dramatic increase in that threshold," Jacobs said.

 

Critics say Cuomo is trying to exact revenge against the Working Families Party for endorsing his opponent, Cynthia Nixon, in the Democratic primary for governor last year, and Jacobs is doing his bidding.

 

Based on 2018 election results, the WFP could lose out with a higher vote threshold, but the Conservative Party could maintain its status.

That prompted this tweet from presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren that said, in part, "attacking the [New York WFP] is deeply undemocratic — and it will only benefit Republicans. No Democrat should allow this to pass."

Warren was recently endorsed by the WFP.

Cuomo says he has the same concerns as Jacobs.

"If you have seven political parties in this state, and you go to public financing, which is the goal, you could potentially be financing one thousand candidates per election cycle," the governor said.

Cuomo also weighed in on whether public matching funds should be limited to money raised in a candidate's district, something experts say will render the program unworkable.

"In-district matches means the people from that community have more of a voice, Cuomo said. "Organizations that operate statewide want to make it statewide matches. So, it's all their own personal politics."

It's worth noting that Warren's home state of Massachusetts does not allow fusion voting — which allows small third parties to cross-endorse major party candidates — nor does it have a system of public financing.

The commission is set to issue its report next month. If legislators do nothing, the recommendations automatically become law.