New York Board of Elections admits “error” in primary results

New York, Jun 30 (EFE) .- The New York Electoral Board warned this Wednesday morning of an “error” in the preliminary results of the local Democratic primaries, which has thrown into chaos some elections in which the potential mayor of the Big Apple.
These data placed the current president of the Brooklyn district, Eric Adams, in the lead by a narrow margin, who was the first to point out “discrepancies” in the number of votes released yesterday by the agency.
Adams had obtained 51.1% of the support, with 368,898 votes counted in a new but complex multi-election system – which allows voters to give their support to up to five candidates – in the absence of around 130,000 other votes being counted. by mail that will not open until next July 6.
In the first count, only the first option marked on the ballots by the voters was taken into account, but as no candidate reached the required threshold, the count of the rest of the preferences expressed by the voters was activated, eliminating the candidates one by one. with less support in each round.
With this, and waiting for the vote by mail, Adams remained in the first place, but the victory was by no means guaranteed.
However, the Electoral Board recognized a “discrepancy” in the latest data it had provided and called for patience while a technical team tried to identify its origin.
He then explained that the preliminary results included 135,000 “additional” votes because the votes cast had been mixed with “test” votes related to the verification of the computer system.
“The Board apologizes for the error and has taken immediate steps to ensure that the most accurate and up-to-date results are reported,” he wrote in a note.
The body said it has eliminated “test” votes from the system and that, after a “cross-check” using computer software, it will “generate” the votes cast and carry out the system of elimination of candidates.
Adams considered the error “unfortunate” and recalled that the trust of voters in the new multi-election system is key, but appreciated the “transparency” of the body.
For her part, the second most supported candidate, Kathryn García, former director of the New York Department of Sanitation, who in preliminary results had 48.9% and was about 16,000 votes behind Adams, was tougher.
Garcia stated that the error “is deeply disturbing and requires a much more transparent and complete explanation.”
The web page with the unofficial results of the elections withdrew the data and shows a message in which it communicates that the results of the first option will be published as of today.
The current mayor, Bill de Blasio, demanded an immediate recount and a “clear explanation” from the Electoral Board, with which he was very critical and demanded a “complete structural reform” for the future.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump compared the “great irregularities and errors” seen in these elections, which he compared with those of the 2020 presidential elections, in which he lost to Joe Biden and in which he has repeatedly denounced alleged fraud.

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