Scott Stringer's campaign chief of staff posts misleading messages about ranked choice voting
A top aide on Scott Stringer's campaign recently sent out misleading text message blasts to voters instructing them it's 'prohibited' to put 'multiple selections' on their Democratic mayoral primary ballots, according to screengrabs obtained by the Daily News.
Elaine Fan, the chief of staff on Stringer's mayoral campaign, posted the messages on several WeChat forums popular with Chinese communities in New York City last weekend.
The messages urged people on the forums to 'vote only for Scott Stringer.'
'Multiple selections are prohibited,' added Fan's messages, which were in Simplified Chinese and included a graphic of a mock mayoral primary ballot with only Stringer's name penciled in on it. A native Chinese speaker provided The News with an independent translation of the messages.
One of the forums. dubbed the Asian Wave Alliance NYC, has 240 members, per the screengrabs. A second group she posted in has 396 members, a third one has 456 and a fourth one has 266.
Despite what Fan posted, voters in the June 24 Democratic primary can rank five candidates in order of preference on their ballots. The ranked-choice process was first used in New York City during the 2021 local elections. State law prohibits 'acts of intimidation, deception, or obstruction that affects the right of voters' to cast their ballots.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Fan said there are 'different interpretations' of her messages, but declined further comment.
In a statement, Stringer spokesman Sam Raskin said his boss 'wasn't aware of the creation or distribution of this graphic.'
'He supports ranked-choice voting—always has and always will—and encourages New Yorkers to use it during this month's election,' Raskin continued. 'Our campaign is committed to ensuring New Yorkers only receive accurate information and encourages all voters to participate in the upcoming election.'
Stringer's campaign also pointed to a message Fan sent in one of the forums apparently attempting to clean up her comments. According to a translation of that message provided by Stringer's camp, she replied to a chat member who had accused her of being misleading:
'That is not what I meant. Many Andrew Yang supporters voted for him five times, which is multiple choices, and that resulted in invalid ballot,' a reference to the 2021 mayoral candidate.
When a member of another forum called her graphic 'misleading,' Fan shot back saying it was not misleading, according to screengrabs verified by The News' independent source.
Fan, who used to be the director Asian affairs in Gov. Hochul's office, is one of Stringer's top aides on his mayoral campaign. Campaign finance records show she has pulled in more than $120,000 in salary from the Stringer campaign since August 2024.
Fan's text blasts come as Stringer has struggled to gain momentum for his mayoral bid. Most recent polls have shown him with single digits of support, trailing far behind front-runner Andrew Cuomo and the No. 2 candidate Zohran Mamdani.
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