A Republican-sponsored New York State Senate hearing on campaign finance reform was disrupted by protests Tuesday morning after guards blocked the door, preventing the public or anyone for free and fair elections from entering the 'public hearing'.

 

Anti-big money groups have been calling for New York to adopt a system of small-donor-empowered campaign finance, similar to that of New York City, to curtail some of the rampant corruption associated with state electoral politics.

 

Senate Republicans announced the hearing to "investigate" the alleged costs associated with the city's system. According to a local news source, the state GOP has spent a "great deal of time attacking the city's financing system" with claims of egregious costs and corruption, which groups such as the Brennan Center for Justice and Fair Elections for New York have issued reports refuting.