Vivian Yee

Something went wrong in that purge, according to multiple election law experts and others familiar with the winnowing process. Amidinvestigations into the New York City Board of Elections and widespread complaints about voters being turned away from the polls on Tuesday, it now seems likely that many legitimate voters were mistakenly disenfranchised.

“This happens every presidential election — the boards all over the state start purging voters,” said City Councilman Ben Kallos, chairman of the committee that oversees the board. Mr. Kallos noted that Brooklyn had historically eliminated more voters than other boroughs during periodic sweeps.

“But this would be the largest number of Democrats who were taken off the rolls in recent memory,” he said.

After flagging voters who do not cast ballots in two consecutive federal elections, the Board of Elections mails notices to determine whether voters still live at the address where they are registered. If no confirmation comes back, a voter can be deleted from the rolls. Board positions are equally split between Republicans and Democrats; each voter removal must be approved by both a Republican and a Democratic employee, according to the rules.

This is the first year that 16- and 17-year-olds can join the city’s community boards, the local advisory groups where the civic-minded, the concerned and the community’s grumblers do battle against encroaching developers, vet liquor license applicants and air block-by-block grievances. Nineteen of them were appointed as unpaid members after the State Legislature lowered the age minimum from 18 last year, an unusual privilege even in a country taking small steps toward expanding youthful civic engagement.