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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Did a New York assembly member nearly lose her seat because of errors in her filing paperwork?

By Esther Honig
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YES

Rebecca Seawright, who represents a Manhattan district in New York's state assembly, missed the filing requirements for her Democratic Party primary because of paperwork errors, but appears likely to have secured her seat by running as an independent candidate in the Nov. 3 general election.

Her Republican challenger, Lou Puliafito, challenged her primary filing errors in state court and succeeded in keeping her out of the primary. That seemed to leave a clear path for Puliafito, a union activist and doorman at a luxury high-rise, who had also challenged her in 2018.

Seawright returned to the November ballot as a candidate from the "Rise and Unite" party. Results as of Nov. 5 show her ahead by about 3,000 votes, about eight percentage points ahead, with a majority of votes cast.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
New York State Court System: Rebecca Seawright v. Board of Elections
Lou for All: Lou Puliafito's campaign website
Ballotpedia: New York State Assembly 76th District
New York State Board of Elections: Unofficial election results
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.