Steven Saperstein’s Lead Widens in 48th Council District Primary

Steven Saperstein’s lead in the Democratic primary for the 48th City Council District widened with the release of the results of the fourth round of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) by the Board of Elections of New York City.

The district includes parts of Brooklyn’s Midwood, Gravesend, Homecrest, Madison, Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach and Brighton Beach neighborhoods.

Saperstein now leads with 3624 votes, or 55.9% of the vote, to Mariya Markh’s 2863 votes, or 44.1%. Amber L. Adler, Binyomin Zev Bendet and Heshy Tischler were eliminated, and 1094 ballots had no choice marked.

On June 23, when initial results with 96% of precincts reporting, Steven Saperstein had 2,358 first-place votes, or 31.15%, and Mariya Markh has 2,154 first-place votes, or 28.46%.

Steven Saperstein tweeted on Saturday night, “Last night’s Ranked Choice Voting results left me very hopeful, excited, and humbled. We feel confident that when the absentee votes are fully counted, the results will remain the same.”

Although Saperstein has a 761 vote lead, at least 1491 absentee ballots had been received by primary day, and those votes have yet to be tabulated.

Unlike most Democratic primaries, the winner of this race will not coast to victory in the general election in November. Republican Inna Vernikov is expected to be a formidable contender, as the district is among the most conservative in New York City.