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  • FACT FOCUS: New York City ballots do not show proof of election fraud

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    NEW YORK (AP) — For many years, New York voters have found candidates listed twice, three times or even more on their ballots when they go to the polling booth.

    It isn’t an error — it’s a practice known as fusion voting that allows candidates to appear under multiple political parties.

    But such intentional duplications on the New York City ballot this year, along with other layout choices, have some outside observers around the country wondering whether they are seeing evidence of rigged voting in Tuesday’s widely-watched mayoral race.

    Billionaire X owner Elon Musk, who briefly served as a top advisor to President Donald Trump, was among those criticizing the ballots.

    “The New York City ballot form is a scam!” he wrote in an X post. “No ID is required. Other mayoral candidates appear twice. Cuomo’s name is last in bottom right.”

    But there is nothing amiss about the ballots, which are in keeping with New York’s voting laws.

    Here’s a closer look at the facts.

    CLAIM: New York City ballots are proof of election fraud because some candidates appear twice and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is listed low in the order.

    THE FACTS: This is false. Candidates may appear more than once on ballots in New York if they are nominated by multiple political parties — a practice called fusion voting. Cuomo is in the eighth spot because he filed to run as an independent later in the process.

    New York, along with Connecticut, is one of few states where fusion voting is legal and commonly used. The practice has existed in New York since at least the mid-20th century. It is also legal in Oregon, Vermont and Mississippi.

    “This occurs pretty frequently and it enables the Democratic candidate to get the votes of people who don’t normally vote for Democrats and Republicans to get the vote of people who don’t vote Republican etc.,” said Richard Briffault, an expert on election administration and a professor at Columbia Law School, said of fusion voting in New York.

    Two mayoral candidates appear twice this year on New York City ballots. Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is also the nominee of the Working Families Party, while Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa is also the candidate for the independent “Protect Animals” party.

    Fusion voting does not allow candidates to receive more than one vote from the same voter, as voters may only vote for a candidate under one party.

    Cuomo is a Democrat, but is running as an independent under a new party he created called “Fight and Deliver” after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June.

    Under state law, there are currently four official parties on the ballot in New York — Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families Party — based on the number of votes their candidate received in the most recent gubernatorial and presidential elections. That vote count also determines the order they appear on the next ballot, from highest to lowest.

    Candidates must file a petition to run as an independent. Boards of elections determine the ballot order of independent parties, which must appear below the official parties.

    “In the case of the New York City Board of Elections, this is determined by the date and time stamp when the independent nominating petition was filed with that board,” said Kathleen McGrath, a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Elections.

    According to McGrath, Cuomo’s “Fight and Deliver” party was the fourth out of five independent parties to submit a nominating petition, meaning that Cuomo is listed eighth on the ballot.

    Mamdani is listed first under the Democratic Party and fourth under the Working Families Party. Sliwa appears second under the Republican Party and fifth under the “Protect Animals” party. Two other candidates running as independents — incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and attorney Jim Walden — dropped out of the race too late to be taken off the ballot.

    “In short, Cuomo is only listed once because he was only nominated once, and he is low in the order because no recognized political party nominated him,” said Mark Lindeman, policy and strategy director at Verified Voting. “Surely Elon Musk has people who could have looked this up for him.”

    New York City does not require voters to show ID to vote unless they did not provide identification with their registration. The nation’s multilayered election processes provide many safeguards that keep voter fraud generally detectable and rare, the AP has reported.

    Representatives for Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

    ___

    Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • NYC Mayor’s Race: Mamdani posts strong general election fundraising haul, while Cuomo and Adams lag behind | amNewYork

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    Former Gov. and independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo (left) and Democratic mayoral nominee and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani.

    Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

    Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani continued his strong fundraising performance over the past month, having amassed more than $1 million in private, mostly small contributions since mid-July, according to newly updated filings with the city Campaign Finance Board (CFB) on Friday.

    At the same time, independent candidates former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams lagged behind. Cuomo raised roughly half of Mamdani’s haul — $507,660, while Adams amassed $420,886.

    Mamdani, a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member, raked in $1,051,200 between July 12 and Aug. 18, according to CFB records. The haul came from 8,461 donors – with an average contribution of $121. Just under half of those contributions — 48% — came from New York City donors, with the rest coming from outside the five boroughs.

    CFB records indicate that Mamdani’s campaign submitted $281,270 of the sum in claims for the city’s public funds program, which matches eligible contributions 8-to-1. The campaign says it expects that amount to unlock over $3 million in matching funds.

    With the new private and anticipated public funds, the campaign says it has already raised over $7 million in the general election.

    “I’m thankful for the support of New Yorkers and for the fact that we continue to show that we are the choice of people across the five boroughs,” Mamdani, who won the June Democratic primary by nearly 13 points, said during an unrelated Friday news conference.

    Mamdani’s spokesperson Dora Pekec, in a statement, said the campaign’s strong fundraising stems from his vast grassroots support, while taking a shot at Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams’ donors with connections to Republican President Trump.

    “While Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams continue to rake in support from MAGA billionaires, our campaign is proud to be fueled by true grassroots support that speaks to the people-powered movement we’re building,” Pekec said. “With over 50,000 volunteers, thousands of small-dollar donors, and genuine enthusiasm for Zohran’s vision for a more affordable New York City, our momentum is surging.”

    Mamdani’s campaign spent $848,918 over the same period and has a war chest of nearly $4.4 million.

    The Assembly member was the first candidate to reach the $8.3 million spending limit in the Democratic primary. The spending cap has been reset for the general election.

    Cuomo and Adams reports

    The campaign for Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, said it expects to add to its $507,660 raise by unlocking $525,384 in matching funds. The combined sum would bring his total fundraising for the cycle to over $1 million.

    Cuomo’s campaign shelled out $579,470 over the same period and has roughly $1.2 million in his campaign account, CFB records show. More than half of Cuomo’s donations came from outside New York City. 

    Cuomo appears to be lagging behind Mamdani in fundraising now that he is running as the underdog, instead of as the presumed frontrunner, as he was in the primary. The former governor was not only able to quickly raise large amounts during the Democratic contest, but was backed by tens of millions of dollars in super PAC spending. 

    Adams’ $420,886 haul, meanwhile, was far lower than the $1.5 million he raised over the previous filing period. That could spell more trouble for his campaign, given the CFB’s continued refusal to grant it matching funds. His haul has $59,420 in matching fund claims.

    The mayor spent big over the past month — to the tune of $850,668 — but still has nearly $4 million in its coffers, according to the board.

    amNewYork reached out to both campaigns for comment and is awaiting responses.

    Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa’s campaign brought in $407,332, of which the campaign claimed $208,021 could be matched, CFB records show. He spent $345,314 and has $2 million cash on hand.

    Meanwhile, independent attorney Jim Walden reported raising just over $8,222 over the same period, records indicate. About $4,329 of that amount is eligible for public matching funds, records show.

    Walden’s campaign has spent $318,566 since mid-July. He has a balance of over $1.2 million in his campaign account.

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    Ethan Stark-Miller

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