More than 50 signatures submitted on New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ petition to run as an independent candidate in the upcoming November election appear to be fraudulent, according to a Gothamist investigation reported by The Guardian. The findings include three signatures from deceased individuals and dozens more from people who claimed their names were forged.
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The Gothamist also reportedly spoke to several residents who said they were misled into signing the documents.
Candidates running as independents are required to submit at least 7,500 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Adams’ campaign submitted nearly 50,000 signatures, well above the threshold.
The questionable entries reportedly came from nine campaign workers who together submitted over 5,000 signatures. One person allegedly collected more than 700 in a single day. In some instances, the Gothamist observed strikingly similar handwriting among multiple entries from the same apartment building.
Adams’ campaign had earlier told the Gothamist it expected contractors to follow legal procedures and said it would conduct its own audit of the petitions.
Adams camp responds
An attorney for the mayor said there is no evidence Adams instructed anyone to break the law and added that the campaign would “determine whether any corrective action is warranted,” reported The Guardian.
Veteran election law expert Jerry Goldfeder noted that while invalid signatures are not unusual, cases involving blatant fraud can lead to criminal referrals. “Every now and again, somebody tries to cut corners, and they’re generally caught,” Goldfeder said as per The Guardian. “Sometimes those cases are referred to the district attorney or the US attorney, and there are prosecutions.”
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The revelation comes as Adams faces stiff competition in the November 4 election. His challengers include Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and ex-prosecutor Jim Walden. Cuomo and Walden, like Adams, are running as independents.
The election takes place amid heightened public concern after a gunman shot and killed four people in a Midtown office building earlier this week. Among the victims was off-duty NYPD officer Didarul Islam.
Adams’ administration has urged New Yorkers to seek mental health support in the aftermath of the attack.
Meanwhile, Mamdani has sought to distance himself from past calls to defund the NYPD, saying Wednesday, according to The Guardian: “I’m not running to defund the police… I am running as a candidate who is not fixed in time, one that learns and one that leads.”
(With inputs from The Guardian)