NYC-CC47: Brooklyn Ballot Fraud Probe Unfolds as Council Race (R) Hangs on 32 Votes

he Board of Elections is moving to certify results Tuesday in a tightly contested Brooklyn Republican City Council primary even as a criminal probe of alleged vote fraud proceeds.

At least 27 ballots are under investigation in Brooklyn’s 47th City Council District, where a razor-thin 32-vote margin separates MAGA candidate George Sarantopoulos and county Republican party chair Richie Barsamian, who are competing for the seat to be vacated by term-limited Justin Brannan.

The New York City Board of Elections announced last week that it had launched an internal probe and referred the matter to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, after discovering absentee ballots cast in the names of two deceased individuals and one elderly voter who says he hasn’t voted in a primary in decades.

“I don’t know who my father’s ballot was cast in favor of, but whoever did it seemed to have access to the voter list,” said Justin Allen, son of 87-year-old Bay Ridge resident William Allen, who had not voted in a primary election in decades but had a ballot fraudulently cast in his name in the primary.




https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/07/28/brooklyn-ballot-fraud-probe-barsamian-sarantopoulos/