WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 1, 2021 15
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
City’s Board of Elections admits tabulation error
BY STEPHEN WITT AND ANGÉLICA
ACEVEDO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
The error-prone Board of Elections
(BOE) admitted late at night
on Tuesday, June 29, that it accidentally
added about 140,000 votes to
its preliminary ranked-choice voting
(RCV) calculations released earlier
in the day and promised an accurate
preliminary recount soon.
In atweet, the BOE blamed the error
on not clearing test votes from their
Election Management System before
adding up the round-by-round RCV
results. This led to an increase of
more than 140,000 votes, or 941,832
total ballots counted, when in reality
there should have been only 799,827
counted — those counted during the
early voting period and on Election
Day.
“The board staff has removed
all test ballot images from the system
and will upload election night
results, cross-referencing against
election night reporting soft ware for
verifi cation. The case vote will be regenerated
and the RCV rounds will be
re-tabulated,” the BOE tweeted.
“The board apologizes for the error
and has taken immediate measures to
ensure the most accurate up-to-date
results are reported,” it added.
The BOE said on its website that
new results would be available later
on Wednesday, June 30.
Frontrunner mayoral candidate
and Brooklyn Borough President Eric
Adams fi rst noticed the error aft er the
BOE released the preliminary RCV
results with some 124,000 absentee
ballots still to be counted.
According to those results, Adams
had a razor-slim lead aft er 11 rounds
with 51.1 percent of the vote (368,898
votes), with former Sanitation Commissioner
Kathryn Garcia in second
with 48.9 percent of the vote (352,990
votes).
Adams issued a statement following
the BOE’s admission, saying the
mistake was unfortunate.
“It is critical that New Yorkers are
confi dent in their electoral system,
especially as we rank votes in a citywide
election for the fi rst time. We
appreciate the board’s transparency
and acknowledgment of their error.
We look forward to the release of an
accurate, updated simulation, and
the timely conclusion of this critical
process,” Adams said.
Garcia called the BOE’s release of
incorrect ranked-choice votes deeply
troubling.
“Every ranked-choice and absentee
vote must be counted accurately so
that all New Yorkers have faith in our
democracy and our government. I am
confi dent that every candidate will
accept the fi nal results and support
whomever the voters have elected,”
she said.
Attorney Maya Wiley, who came
in third place just behind Garcia and
could possibly still come out on top
once all RCV and absentee ballots
are counted, called the BOE error the
result of generations of failures that
have gone unaddressed.
“Last summer the BOE mishandled
tens of thousands of mail-in ballots
during the June 2020 primary. It
has also been prone to complaints of
patronage. The BOE must now count
the remainder of the votes transparently
and ensure the integrity of the
process moving forward. New Yorkers
deserve it,” she said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio also weighed
in on the BOE’s issue on Wednesday
morning, saying the “fundamental
fl aws” of the agency are yet again on
display.
“There must be an immediate, complete
recanvass of the BOE’s vote count
and a clear explanation of what went
wrong. The record number of voters
who turned out this election deserve
nothing less,” de Blasio said. “Going
forward, there must be a complete
structural rebuild of the board.”
Hizzoner said he previously off ered
the BOE “over $20 million” to reform,
but said they refused. De Blasio’s now
calling on legislative action, and is
advocating for the passage of state
Senator Liz Krueger and Queens
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic’s bill (S.
6226/A. 5691) to “professionalize” the
BOE’s in its current form and make
them directly accountable to New
York City’s elected offi cials.
De Blasio is also calling for an
amendment to the State Constitution
that would allow for a new, professional
board, removed of party affi liation.
“It’s a necessary, fundamental
change,” de Blasio said.
Meanwhile, Queens City Councilman
I. Daneek Miller, co-chair of the
Council’s Black, Latino and Asian
Caucus, ramped up the call to pass his
legislation (Introduction 2326) giving
voters another chance to weigh in on
the merits of RCV in the November
general election.
“Both the BOE and pro-RCV advocates
assured voters that this would
be a seamless process, and yet, the opposite
appears to be true,” Miller said.
“The fact that the Board of Elections is
unable to determine the source of the
discrepancy and we are still waiting
on council and borough president
tallies highlights the total ineptitude
to hold an RCV election in what is
one of the most impactful election
cycles as we begin to recover from
the pandemic.”
Miller said the United States has
recently witnessed what happens
when the “integrity of our elections
are called into question.”
“Right, wrong or indiff erent, Jan. 6 is
a reality,” he said. “We cannot allow this
process to erode confi dence in our democracy,
and I question the intentions
of anyone who might be opposed to
putting RCV up for a public referendum
aft er witnessing today’s events.”
There are multiple Queens races
that will need RCV to determine the
winner, including the closely contested
Queens borough presidents
race and many of the crowded City
Council races.
In the borough president race,
incumbent Donovan Richards holds
a small lead over former Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley as of 8 a.m.
on Wednesday, June 23. Richards secured
41.53 percent of the vote (64,814
votes), with Crowley at 40.20 percent
of the vote (62,738 votes), according to
unoffi cial results. Term-limited Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer followed in
third place with 17.82 percent of the
vote (27,813 votes).
Since no candidate received 50
percent of the vote, a ranked-choice
voting count will be needed to determine
the winner of the race aft er all
absentee ballots are counted.
Democratic City Council districts 19,
20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29 and 32 had tight
races, with no candidate making it to
50 percent of the vote. However, City
Council districts 21, 24, 28, 30 and 31
had candidates who met the 50 percent
threshold.
The BOE’s canvassing process
that began on Monday, June 28, will
continue until all absentee and other
special ballots are counted. The second
preliminary RCV report round
by round elimination is scheduled to
be released on July 6, according to the
BOE.
Zachary Gewelb contributed to this
story.
Campaign watchers observe the canvass of absentee, military, special
and affi davit ballots at the Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens
Borough Hall on June 28. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
PoliticsNY.com PoliticsNYnews PoliticsNYnews PoliticsNYnews
/PoliticsNY.com
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
