FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 1, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
Board of Elections admits tabulation
error, promises new results soon
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO AND
STEPHEN WITT
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e 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 rankedchoice
voting (RCV) calculations released
earlier in the day and promised an accurate
preliminary recount soon.
In a tweet, the BOE blamed the error on
not clearing test votes from their Election
Management System before adding up the
round-by-round RCV results. Th is 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.
“Th e 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. Th e case vote will
be re-generated and the RCV rounds will
be re-tabulated,” the BOE tweeted.
“Th e board apologizes for the error and
has taken immediate measures to ensure
the most accurate up-to-date results are
reported,” it added.
Th e 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. Th e
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.
“Th ere must be an immediate, complete
recanvass of the BOE’s vote count and a
clear explanation of what went wrong.
Th e 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. “Th e 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
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
of our elections are called into question.”
Th ere 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.
Th e BOE’s canvassing process that began
on Monday, June 28, will continue until
all absentee and other special ballots are
counted. Th e 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.
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