New York Representative Charles Rangel's lead in a contested Democratic primary has increased after the first day of counting more than 2,000 absentee and affidavit ballots.
The New York City Board of Elections' tally at the end of Thursday has Rangel leading state Senator Adriano Espaillat by 945 votes. That's up from the 802-vote margin he had before the count started.
The board will resume counting on Friday morning and hopes to finish by the end of the day.
Meanwhile, a Bronx State Supreme Court justice ruled yesterday the city elections board can certify the election result, but can't transmit it to the state Board of Elections until the justice approves it. That transmission is the final step to make an election result official.
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