The New York City Board of Elections apologized late Tuesday after election officials removed the latest vote tally for the Democratic mayoral primary from its website following a data error.
Why it matters: New York City's first election using a ranked choice voting system was thrown into disarray when 135,000 test ballots were counted along with the actual ballots, resulting in front-runner Eric Adams' significant lead being cut.
- The error appeared to "confirm worries" that the board that's run by Republicans and Democrats "was unprepared to implement the new system," per AP.
Driving the news: Preliminary results posted Tuesday indicated that Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams had a narrow lead over former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia.
- The board tweeted Tuesday evening that there had been a "discrepancy," without elaborating on the cause of the problem, and it withdrew the earlier tally from its website.
- The BOE said in its later statement explaining the test ballots error that it had "taken immediate measures to ensure the most accurate up to date results are reported."
What they're saying: Adams said in a statement late Tuesday that the "mistake by the Board of Elections was unfortunate."
- "It is critical that New Yorkers are confident in their electoral system, especially as we rank votes in a citywide election for the first time," he said.
What to watch: The results could significantly change again once the board works through the preliminary figures as it next has to count roughly 124,000 Democratic absentee ballots, the New York Times notes.
- A final result isn't expected until mid-July.
- The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to be elected mayor in November's general election.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
