Overview

• A Gothamist investigation identified 52 forged or fraudulently obtained signatures, including three from deceased individuals, in the nearly 50,000 petitions filed by Mayor Eric Adams’s independent re-election bid.
• Adams downplayed the irregularities as typical of street petition drives and defended gathering a large buffer of signatures to ensure ballot access.
• The mayor’s team has retained an independent reviewer to audit its entire petition submission and flag any additional invalid entries.
• A New York City Board of Elections official said the late‐breaking allegations cannot overturn his ballot placement but noted district attorneys retain the power to pursue criminal probes.
• Rivals such as Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani have denounced the forgeries as a betrayal of voter trust and a sign of exploitative campaign tactics.