NEW YORK — There are still hundred of thousands of ranked-choice ballots to calculate, and more than 100,000 absentee ballots have yet to be opened.

But Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, in the lead right now with the most first-choice votes, was perhaps getting ahead of himself Friday:

"July 13, we should sit down and start a smooth transition of what this city is going to look like," Adams told reporters during an appearance alongside members of 32BJSEIU, one of the biggest unions to support his bid for mayor.

What You Need To Know

  • So far, Adams has 253,234 first-choice votes in the Democratic primary for mayor

  • Adams is leading by more than 75,000 votes

  • His closest challengers say that lead could shrink

  • Neither Maya Wiley nor Kathryn Garcia has conceded

July 13 would be just a day after the primary may potentially be called. Adams's suggestion assumes his lead will hold, but it also ignores any general election matchup versus Republican Curtis Sliwa. Adams says in a city emerging from a pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio should make his administration accessible.

"Make your commissioners available. We should not wait until the end,” Adams said. “We cannot wait until the election is over."

So far, Adams has 253,234 first-choice votes, leading by more than 75,000, although his closest challengers say that lead could shrink and neither Maya Wiley nor Kathryn Garcia has conceded.

Ranked-choice counting will not begin until Tuesday, and the Board of Elections has said it doesn't expect to have a final result until July 12 at the earliest.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself, that is disrespectful to the process if I do that," Adams said. "But we have five months where we can have a real transition. We would do a disservice to people in this city if we wait until November."

In a city where Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans, it is likely that, should he win the primary, Adams may become the next mayor.

If he does get the Democratic nomination, Adams would have to face off against Sliwa. The general election is not until November.

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