NYC mayoral primary polls close, setting up potentially long wait for final results

The polls closed in New York City’s hotly contested mayoral primary election on Tuesday night, but it may be several days or even weeks before final results are determined in a race that will have major implications for the city’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and an ongoing crime wave.

The New York City Board of Elections was expected to release preliminary results from early and in-person voting by Tuesday night. However, it is expected to take weeks for election officials to tally all ranked-choice and absentee ballots. A final result may not be known until July, the New York Daily News reported. Eric Adams, a former captain in the New York City Police Department and the current Brooklyn borough president, was considered the frontrunner heading into the primary vote, according to an average of recent polls. He has pledged to lead a crackdown on gun violence and reform law enforcement tactics even as he rejected calls among some contenders to "defund" the police.