Overview

• Gothamist reporters verified 52 out of nearly 50,000 submitted signatures as forged or fraudulently obtained, including entries from at least three deceased individuals.
• Mayor Adams downplayed the findings as a routine risk of street petitioning and noted his campaign gathered far more than the 7,500 signatures required.
• His campaign has appointed an independent reviewer to vet the full petition list for authenticity in response to the investigation.
• A Board of Elections official said the elapsed contest period and the agency’s focus on signature counts make it unlikely any challenge will affect his ballot status.
• Election lawyers and the investigation highlighted systemic gaps in private signature-gathering practices and called for strengthened verification safeguards.