July 31 - Save the date for our post-primary picnic!
Dear Higb,
It's been over a week since Election Day, and you may be wondering why we have few if any definitive results.
Ranked choice voting, a system that requires a winner to have majority support, is only a small part of the answer. There are also arcane rules and laws that do not allow the Board of Elections to count absentee ballots as they are received. This is why the results released yesterday are incomplete. Until absentee ballots are counted, we have no idea how these races will conclude.
One thing is clear, though: The serious error made on Tuesday by the Board of Elections, in which they neglected to remove dummy test ballots from the system before calculating and publishing preliminary results, was unacceptable. The Brooklyn Young Democrats endorse calls made by elected officials and progressive organizations to reform the BOE and launch an independent inquiry into what happened.
New Yorkers deserve a Board of Elections they can trust to be both impartial and competent.
So when will we have final results?
Right now, the results for city-wide offices only include in-person voting. When absentee ballots are factored in, they could potentially change which candidates fall out during elimination rounds, so the head-to-head matches you see now could very well change.
On July 6, the BOE is scheduled to update the ranked-choice voting results with a certain number of absentee ballots. It is unclear whether this will include all or only some of the ballots. The more completed count is expected the week of July 12.
It is important that we be patient as the counting continues. The results are coming and we will know them soon enough. Patience with the process, however, should not mean acquiescence to another election cycle in which the BOE undermines public trust in democracy. Something must change.
Save the Date: BYD is planning to host a post-primary picnic on July 31! Stay tuned to your inbox for details!
