Primaries 2021: July 6 RCV Tabulation of Bronx Borough President’s Race

By SÍLE MOLONEY & SARAH HUFFMAN

City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson (with microphone) speaks after A March to End Gun Violence in the Morrisania section of the Bronx on July 23, 2020.
Photo by Síle Moloney

The New York City Board of Elections (BOE) published its second, updated preliminary unofficial report of the ranked choice vote (RCV) tabulation in the 2021 Bronx borough president Democratic primary election on Tuesday evening, July 6.

According to the report, District 16 City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson secured 53.5 percent (49,392 votes) of the vote share after the latest tabulation, beating her nearest opponent, District 14 City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, who has already conceded the race. The report showed Cabrera finishing with 46.5 percent (42,953 votes) after Round 3, and indicated that Gibson had won the race, as reported, a historic achievement which sets her up to become the first Black Bronx borough president and the first female Bronx borough president if she wins the general election in November.

Revised Round 3 results (apparently) of the second, updated preliminary report released on Tuesday, July 6, by the New York City Board of Elections of the latest, unofficial RCV count tabulation in the 2021 primary election for Bronx borough president. No date for the report is provided and neither does it indicate whether the results include absentee ballots or not, nor how many reported scanners it includes.
Source: NYC Board of Elections

A week ago, after the initial RCV tabulation was re-published on June 30, Gibson led the race with 53 percent of the vote share versus Cabrera’s 47 percent. On Election Night, she led with 39.23 percent compared to Cabrera, who had 34.28 percent.

As reported, Gibson held a pre-planned press conference on Wednesday during for the co-naming of a street in honor of the late Bronx teen, Brandon Hendricks, a gifted basketball player who was about to start college last year when he became another tragic victim of gun violence. As previously reported, a scholarship has been opened in Hendricks’ name for Bronx college students.

Gibson also released a statement on Tuesday night in which she thanked supporters from across the borough, saying she was honored to be the Democratic nominee for Bronx borough president, that she was committed to working with all stakeholders and that her priorities would be to help the borough recover from the pandemic and address inequality. “Thank you for your vote of confidence and support,” she said.

Round 3 results of the preliminary, unofficial report re-published on June 30 of the initial ranked choice vote (RCV) tabulation for the Bronx borough president Democratic primary race.
Source: NYC Board of Elections

Ravelo issued the following statement in both English and Spanish, on June 23, the day after the primary. “Yesterday was just the beginning. I will be on the ballot this November. Everyone that is registered will be able to vote for us regardless of the party. I want to thank everyone that came out to vote yesterday. Although we did not win, we will continue to fight for a safer New York.”

Later, on July 6, following the erroneous inclusion by the New York City Board of Elections (BOE), on June 29, of 135,000 test ballots in the first RCV tabulation of ranked choice votes in the mayoral race, Ravelo attended a rally in Manhattan, to call for a do-over of the primary election in September, among other demands. “135K irregular votes in these elections,” he wrote.

Flyer for Voter’s Voice Against Fraud rally on July 6, 2021.
Image via Facebook

“Today I joined a group of candidates both Democrats and Republicans in calling out the Board of Elections on how bad the elections were handled. I will be on the ballot this November as an independent Democrat endorsed by the Conservative Party for Bronx Borough President. I believe that total control by one party of city government is not resulting policies that necessarily benefit the people. Time for change #Bronx.”

As reported, the BOE had already apologized for the error which they put down to human error and added that they had added another quality control step to the process to avoid reoccurrence. The agency recalled the initial erroneous report and published a corrected one on June 30.

Bronx borough president candidate, Sammy Ravelo joins others in Manhattan outside the Board of Elections office on July 6, 2021, for a rally during which protestors called for a redo of the primary election.
Photo via Facebook

“Yesterday’s ranked choice voting reporting error was unacceptable and we apologize to the voters and to the campaigns for the confusion. Let us be clear: RCV was not the problem, rather a human error that could have been avoided. We have implemented another layer of review and quality control before publishing information going forward,” the statement read.

On Saturday, July 3, even though the absentee ballots have not yet been counted, Cabrera issued a statement, conceding the race to Gibson, writing, “First, I want to take a moment to thank every single one of those who supported me in this borough president race.”

He added, “The love and friendships I experienced during this campaign touched me deeply. The absentee ballots are still out, but it is clear Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson is the winner and will be our next Bronx Borough President.” He added, “I truly wish her the best in her new leadership role. I will be praying and consulting with my family and friends considering my next steps.”

Statement from District 16 Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson on July 7, 2021, following the release of the final RCV tabulation in the Bronx borough president primary election held June 22, 2021.
Image via social media

Meanwhile, Fernández also issued a statement on Saturday, having seemingly conceded the race last week. On Saturday, she wrote on social media, “I want to congratulate my colleague Council Member Vanessa Gibson as she is one step closer to becoming the first female Bronx Borough President! I wish her great luck in her new leadership role, and look forward to our partnership in building a better Bronx!”

She added, “It was an absolute privilege to have the opportunity to run for Bronx Borough President. We built a tremendous movement, and brought important issues to the forefront of the conversation. I am excited to continue my work fighting for all Bronxites as a NYS Assembly Member.”

As reported, the BOE recently released an important video notice in which the agency asked New Yorkers to keep an eye out for a potential notice from the agency which explains how they can correct any invalid absentee ballots, where applicable. According to the latest (July 6) report, there were 9,104 inactive ballots in this race. It is this process of curing the ballots which is now taking place before the BOE can ratify the election.

As reported, Norwood News has queried with the BOE the sequence of how the second RCV tabulation was carried out (as opposed to the methodology) in all the recent primary races. We will update this story upon receipt of any further information.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.