135,000 'test' ballots mistakenly added: How NYC's election board got the results so wrong Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY New Yorkers cast ballots for next mayor but it could be weeks before winner is announced Replay Video NEW YORK — "Foolishness." "Unfortunate." "Generations of failures." New York City's Board of Election is facing widespread criticism after it mistakenly included some 135,000 "test" ballots in partial results released Tuesday in its tightly-contested mayoral election. The three-way contest — between Brooklyn borough President Eric Adams; Maya Wiley, former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio; and Kathryn Garcia, former Department of Sanitation head — has been upended with a murky picture of who is ahead after the election board's botched release and scores of mail-in votes remain to be counted.