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NYC Mayoral race: Adams polls high in outer areas as Wiley banks on absentee ballots

Eric Adams speaks at a New York City primary mayoral election night party in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2021.  (REUTERS)
Eric Adams speaks at a New York City primary mayoral election night party in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2021. (REUTERS)

Brooklyn borough president and former police officer Eric Adams took an early lead but fell short of an outright victory in the Democratic primary for New York City’s next mayor, as voters await the results from the city’s first-ever election using the new ranked-choice voting system that could alter the outcome in the weeks ahead.

After tallying ballots from Election Day and early in-person voting ballots, Mr Adams has a nearly 10-point lead, while progressives have coalesced around Maya Wiley, who stands in second place with more than 22 per cent of the vote.

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang was the first among early front-runners to concede on Tuesday night after he fell to a distant fourth place.

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The primary election marks the debut of the city’s first-ever ranked-choice election, in which voters can fill ballots “ranking” their first, second, third, four and fifth choices in order of preference in citywide races.

Without a clear majority win in the first-choice results, the outcome of the race might not be revealed until several weeks from now.