The city Board of Elections asked Brooklyn prosecutors to open an investigation into possible voter fraud Friday after The Post revealed two absentee ballots in a close primary council race were cast on behalf of deceased people.
The BOE said it was asking the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office to look into two incidents surrounding the District 47 race, including the votes cast in the name of people who died over a decade ago and another 22 ballots that were deemed as “potentially fraudulent.”
The BOE didn’t say what made the more than two dozen ballots suspicious, but that the votes had been invalidated following an internal investigation, which was then referred to the Brooklyn DA.
The razor-thin margin primary between Brooklyn Republican Party Chair Richie Barsamian and entrepreneur George Sarantopoulos could be decided by only a handful of votes. Unofficial election night tallies had a mere 32-vote difference between the two candidates.
The 22 ballots were discovered during a manual recount process earlier this week a source told The Post, adding that lawyers from the BOE had been reviewing them in recent days.
Sarantopoulos was maintaining a 16-vote lead as of Friday, gaining two ballots in a manual recount that started Tuesday, sources said.
He had been maintaining a 14-vote lead as of Wednesday, according to a statement from his campaign.
A source who spoke to Barasamian — who as head of the Brooklyn GOP gets to appoint BOE employees — about The Post’s original reporting Tuesday, said that the candidate confided he was “very worried.”
The Barasamian campaign did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Sources said multiple people from the Brooklyn BOE who were involved in the south Brooklyn GOP primary had been reassigned from their roles during the internal investigation.
“The workers from that section were reassigned pending the results of the investigation,” Brooklyn Democratic BOE Commish and retired NYPD detective Frank Seddio told The Post.
Personal devices and computers were seized from BOE employees as part of the probe, sources said.
The BOE previously the election would be certified next week after the manual recount of votes is completed.
“While any attempt to compromise the electoral process is deeply troubling, this case underscores the strength of the Board’s existing safeguards,” the BOE said in a news release.
“These irregularities were identified early, investigated thoroughly, and resolved swiftly – demonstrating the Board’s commitment to upholding the integrity of our elections.”
A representative for the BK DA said the office doesn’t comment on investigations.
“The people of this district deserve an election that is free, fair, and transparent. We will never tolerate backroom games or corrupt political maneuvering. I want to thank the Board of Elections staff who uncovered these irregularities and the legal team that acted decisively,” Sarantopoulous said in a statement.
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