The NYC BOE released the data files, but no metadata or explanation, so we have to do this ourselves.
Each row is a cast vote, and each column is a preference for a candidate. These are the columns that appear in all spreadsheets, regardless of what borough or ballot type they are:
| Column | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Cast Vote Record | unique ID number |
| Precinct | AD (assembly district) and ED (election district) where the voter is registered (your polling place is determined by your AD/ED) |
| Ballot Style | Identifier for the type of ballot the voter used, based on the unique combination of races in their AD/ED |
Other columns follow this format: [PARTY] [Office] Choice [#] of 5 [County] ([race id]). For example, DEM Borough President Choice 1 of 5 New York (024307). If there were fewer than 5 candidates in a race, these columns may only go up to the number of candidates, for example, ...Choice 1 of 3....
Since there is a column for every race in the borough in each spreadsheet, most columns don't actually apply to any given row, which is why we see so many undervote cells. The spreadsheet does not differentiate, for example, between a City Council race outside the voter's district and a City Council race where the voter skipped one or more ranked choices. Both cases are listed as undervote.
Prefixes (P*)
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
P1 |
New York county (Manhattan) |
P2 |
Bronx county |
P3 |
Kings county (Brooklyn) |
P4 |
Queens county |
P5 |
Richmond county (Staten Island) |
Suffixes
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
ABS |
Absentee ballots |
AFF |
Affidavit ballots |
ELE# |
Day-of election ballots (numbers after ELE appear to be related to file size, not contents) |
EMG |
Emergency ballots |
This section is a best guess based on comparing the CVR to published RCV results.
If a ballot starts with an undervote, it is skipped and the vote instead goes to the candidate selected in the next correct column; everything shifts to the left. For example, a ballot with undervote in first and Eric L. Adams in second would be counted for Eric Adams as if that were the voter's first choice. If a ballot starts with an overvote, the ballot does not count for that race, because it would be impossible to determine which candidate to allocate the voter's vote to. (The BOE gave people the opportunity to correct overvotes in person if they voted in person, or by mail if they voted absentee, but some overvotes still got through.)
This image from the BOE page explaining RCV illustrates both an undervote and an overvote: here the voter cast an undervote (no candidate selected) in rank 1, and an overvote (multiple candidates selected) in rank 2. This ballot would not count for any candidate because the undervote is skipped but the overvote disqualifies the ballot.
This section is a best guess based on comparing the CVR to published RCV results.
Some ballots contain multiple votes for the same candidate, either consecutively or with other candidates in between. It appears that the first rank where a candidate appears on the ballot is counted toward that candidate, and subsequent ones are disregarded. For example:
| Cast vote | How it's counted |
|---|---|
| Wiley, Wiley, Adams, Garcia | 1st choice: Wiley. 2nd choice: Adams. 3rd choice: Garcia |
| Wiley, Yang, Wiley, Garcia | 1st choice: Wiley. 2nd choice: Yang. 3rd choice: Garcia |