NEW YORK — The New York City Campaign Finance Board sent out over 3.5 million voter guides that incorrectly stated — twice — Mayor Eric Adams would appear on the Democratic primary ballot next month.
The packets were printed in 14 different languages with 96 editions, and each voter guide contained the errors.
“Our priority at the Campaign Finance Board and NYC Votes is to provide trustworthy information that empowers New Yorkers to make their voices heard at the ballot box,” Lebowitz said in a statement.
“In the business of voter education, every error is serious, and we take Voter Guide errors very seriously.
“The Campaign Finance Board’s voter guide is incorrect — he is not receiving matching funds,” Shapiro said.
NEW YORK — More than 3 million voter guides were distributed by the New York City Campaign Finance Board, falsely stating twice that Mayor Eric Adams would be on the Democratic primary ballot the following month.
He is actually running as an independent in November, avoiding his party’s primary.
According to Amy Lebowitz, a spokesman for the Campaign Finance Board, the “2025 Primary Election Voter Guide” was mailed to 3,523,795 voters in the city beginning on May 19, approximately one month prior to the primary on June 24. The voter guides included errors and were printed in 96 editions in 14 different languages.
“Providing reliable information that enables New Yorkers to express their opinions at the voting booth is our top priority at the Campaign Finance Board and NYC Votes,” Lebowitz said in a statement. “We take Voter Guide errors very seriously because every mistake is serious in the voter education industry. To ensure that voters in all five boroughs have access to accurate information, NYC Votes will put in extra effort until election day. “.”.
A revised list of mayoral primary candidates will be sent to all city-registered Democrats, the board also informed POLITICO, expediting the process. The cost of the remedial action was not specified.
Together with fifteen other Democratic mayoral candidates, Eric Adams is ranked second in the voter guide. In Adams’ candidate profile, it also displays his partisan affiliation beneath his name.
Adams declared he would run for reelection as an independent in April, and his campaign subsequently acknowledged that it is collecting signatures to be listed on two new ballot lines: “SafeandAffordable” and “EndAntiSemitism.”. “.”.
Todd Shapiro, a spokesman for the Adams campaign, said in a statement that although Mayor Eric Adams is a Democrat, he is running this cycle as an independent in order to unite a wider coalition of voters.
The mayor’s decision came after he seemed to realize that, given his ties to President Donald Trump, he would face unique challenges in a Democratic primary. In a alleged quid pro quo, the Republican White House was successful in persuading a federal judge to dismiss the mayor’s corruption charges.
Despite his denial of that accusation, Adams appeared to acknowledge that the case hurt his standing with Democrats, as polling has repeatedly indicated.
Additionally, Shapiro objected to the voter guide’s decision to mark Adams’ name with a checkmark. As per the guide, the symbol is intended to inform voters that “a candidate is participating in NYC’s matching funds program, which helps candidates rely on New York City residents — not special interests — to fund their campaigns.”.
Adams is suing the board, according to POLITICO, for not giving him $3.04 million in matching funds.
Shapiro claimed that the voter guide published by the Campaign Finance Board was inaccurate and that he was not getting matching funds. Candidate choices that deviate from party lines are unjustly penalized by the CFB’s regulations. In order to make sure the system encourages participation rather than limits it, we are contesting this. “.”.
After Adams was indicted on federal charges of engaging in a straw donor scheme and abusing the program, the board, which was in charge of designing, printing, and mailing the packets, decided in December that he was not eligible to receive matching funds.
Other candidates who have tried to obtain public matching funds but have not been successful were also marked with checkmarks in the voter guide.
