East Harlem's City Council Primary: Final Results

EAST HARLEM, NY — On Tuesday, the New York City Board of Elections posted the unofficial results of ranked-choice voting for the heated Democratic primary election for City Council District 8, and candidate Elsie Encarnacion came away the leader of the pack, beating out six other candidates with 58.3 percent of the vote.

It was a tight race for Manhattan's City Council District 8 in the Democratic primary election on June 24, and seven Democratic candidates were vying for the open seat, left vacant by Councilmember Diana Ayala, who is term-limited.

City Council District 8 includes Mott Haven-Port Morris, Melrose, Concourse Village, Carnegie Hill, Yorkville, East Harlem and Randall's Island.

With no candidate earning more than 50 percent of the vote on election night, the race headed off to another round of counting thanks to ranked-choice voting.

Here's how ranked-choice voting works: Instead of just voting for one candidate per race, New Yorkers ranked their top five choices, in order. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, then they win the primary.

The candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated each round, and the people who voted for the eliminated candidate will have their other choices redistributed to the other candidates.

This process repeats until there is just one candidate left.

On primary election day, which was on June 24, Elsie Encarnacion held the lead in District 8, with 28.6 percent of the votes, or 4,261 total votes. Wilfredo Lopez was in second place, with 18.5 percent of votes, or 2,756 votes.

The final results will be certified on July 15.

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