The New York City Board of Elections on Friday asked prosecutors to investigate possible voter fraud in a close Republican primary race in south Brooklyn.
When the BOE released official primary election results on July 2, George Sarantopoulos, a businessman, led led Richie Barsamian, the chairman of the Kings County GOP, by 46 votes in the primary for the Republican seat for City Council District 47, which covers Bay Ridge.
After a second day of hand recounting on Friday, Sarantopoulos led Barsamian by 16 votes, the New York Times reported.
During the recount, the BOE identified 22 ballots as potentially fraudulent, according to a statement posted on X. These ballots were deemed invalid.
In another incident, the BOE said names of deceased individuals may have been used to cast ballots.
Both cases were referred to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office to be investigated, the BOE said.
The New York Young Republican Club said it had repeatedly asked Barsamian to concede the race. "As County Chair, Barsamian’s job was to recruit effective candidates like George to run – not to leverage his own seat as a springboard into higher office. Now, instead of sitting on the City Council, Barsamian may end up sitting in a cell on Rikers Island," the group's statement read.
