How to read the map
What a line means
A line shows money one side reported giving to the other during the year: contributions, in-kind contributions, loans, housekeeping receipts, and transfers between committees. The arrow points the way the money went. A line is a reported transaction, nothing more. It does not mean the two sides coordinate, agree, or did anything wrong.
Every dollar counted once
When two committees both report the same transfer, one as money out and the other as money in, the two records are paired (same sender, recipient and amount, booked up to a month apart) and counted once. Ordinary spending on vendors, refunds, loan repayments and memo entries are left out.
Individual donors
To keep the map readable and to respect private citizens, people who gave less than $1,000 in total during the year are not drawn. Their money still counts: it appears in each committee's "smaller donors" total. Street addresses are never shown.
Names are matched automatically
Filings spell the same name many ways. The map merges obvious variations ("NY" and "New York", "PAC" or not, names cut off at 40 characters), and treats people as the same only when name and ZIP code match. It can still split one donor in two, or rarely join two with the same name. Always confirm with the filings: every panel links to the matching transactions on the BOE Dashboard.
Figures are a snapshot of the Board's bulk download, not real-time. For the legally authoritative record, use the State Board of Elections' own search.