Confusion sets in after NYC election board releases vote totals in mayoral primary — then admits discrepancy


Just hours after releasing a new tally of votes in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, the New York City Board of Elections on Tuesday tweeted it was "aware there is a discrepancy" in the totals and was working with technical staff "to identify where the discrepancy occurred."
The election, held last Tuesday, was New York's first mayoral election using ranked choice voting. Under this system, voters pick up to five candidates in their order of preference. If no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote, ranked choice voting came into play, with the lowest-ranked candidates eliminated and their votes reallocated to the candidates still in the running.
On Election Day, Eric Adams was in the lead with 31.6 percent of the vote, with Maya Wiley in second place and Kathryn Garcia in third. The results released on Tuesday show Adams leading Garcia by 2.2 percentage points, at 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent. The Board of Elections has more than 120,000 absentee ballots to count, and is still accepting them through Tuesday. The final result is not expected until mid-July.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Board of Elections' latest release counts 940,000 votes, and in response, Adams said in a statement this is "100,000-plus more than the total announced on Election Night, raising serious questions. We have asked the Board of Elections to explain such a massive increase and other irregularities before we comment on the ranked choice voting projection."
Adams had a point, several political journalists agreed.
"Now, it could be that the Election Night counts were wrong and today's count was right," Dave Wasserman of The Cook Political Report tweeted. "Or, the reverse could be true. Or, both were off. No matter what, [New York City Board of Elections] needs to get its act together, fast." He later tweeted that "a lot of people have been blowing the whistle on NY's election administration for years, but this is the most botched election results reporting by an official agency I've ever seen in the U.S."
Reporter Hunter Walker also voiced his frustration on Twitter, saying, "As someone who's spent the better part of this year defending elections systems and encouraging trust, I can't stress how dangerous and damaging it is for an institution like the [New York City Board of Elections] to report incomplete and incorrect figures in a high profile race. Awful."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
October 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released
The Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats