Little-known paper sheets are key to declaring victory in Venezuela's election

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela was tense on Tuesday as incumbent President Nicolás Maduro and the country’s main opposition coalition both claimed that they had won Sunday’s presidential election.

The national electoral authority proclaimed Maduro the winner. The opposition, represented, by Edmundo González said it has evidence to the contrary.

Electoral authorities installed more than 30,000 voting machines, and by law the opposition had the right to have representatives at all voting centers. But not all were allowed in Sunday or were ousted before polls closed.

After the polls close, Venezuela’s electronic voting machines can print sheets tallying all the votes each counted. Experts say the best way to clear up the dispute is to release those sheets. But the National Electoral Council has not done so.

Here’s a look at what has been said and what is known:

The main discussion is coming down to the sheets. In case of any dispute, one way of solving it is by checking the tallies the government has against what the opposition parties have.

The electronic machines provide every voter a paper receipt that shows which candidate they chose. Voters are supposed to deposit their receipts at ballot boxes before exiting the polls.

After polls close, each machine prints a tally sheet showing the candidates’ names and the votes each received. Party representatives stationed at polling sites throughout election day get a copy of the tally sheet, and electoral authorities keep another one.

But the ruling party wields tight control over the voting system, both through a loyal five-member electoral council and a network of longtime local party coordinators who get near unrestricted access to voting centers. Those coordinators, some of whom are responsible for handing out government benefits including subsidized food, have blocked representatives of opposition parties from entering voting centers as allowed by law to witness the voting process, vote counting and, crucially, to obtain a copy of the machines’ final tally sheets.

On its website, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council traditionally posts vote counts for every machine. It has never posted images of the tally sheets.

The president of the council, Elvis Amoroso, said Monday that Maduro got 51.2% of the votes, or more than 5.1 million votes. González garnered 44%, or more than 4.4 million votes, he said.

Amoroso said the other 8 presidential candidates got a combined total of 4% or more than 462,000 votes.

He said those numbers were based on a review of 80% of the tally sheets. He did not show the sheets.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Monday that González got more than 6.2 million votes and Maduro got more than 2.7 million votes.

Machado did not offer totals for the other eight candidates.

She said those numbers were based on a review of 73.2% of the tally sheets. She did not show any tally sheet but she directed voters to a website where they can use their ID number to look up an image of the sheet that corresponds to the machine where they voted.

The National Electoral Council does not have the obligation to post the tally sheets on its website — which has been down since Monday. But the opposition, electoral experts and some foreign governments disputing the official results are urging the sheets’ release.

On Monday, Machado announced the opposition had created a searchable website with images of every tally sheet that opposition poll representatives were able to obtain. Machado said the information was also being shared with the international community.

Voters line up outside a polling station that reads in Spanish "Vote" during the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Electoral officials tally votes after polls closed for presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

An election officials tallies votes after polls closed for the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Alejandra Rivas votes during presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Voters line up outside a polling station during the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, left, and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez hold up vote tally sheets during a protest against the official presidential election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, two days after the election. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez ride atop a truck during a protest against official presidential election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, two days after the vote. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez holds up vote tally sheets from the top of a truck during a protest against the official presidential election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, two days after the election. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, left, and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez hold up vote tally sheets from the top of a truck during a protest against the official presidential election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, two days after the election. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

Electoral officials tally votes after polls closed for presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two former New York City Fire Department chiefs were arrested Monday on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to guarantee that the department's fire-safety division gave preferential treatment to some individuals and companies.

Anthony Saccavino, 59, of Manhattan and Brian Cordasco, 49, of Staten Island were arrested on bribery, corruption and false statements charges alleging that they solicited and accepted the bribe payments from at least 2021 through 2023.

They each were freed on $250,000 bail after entering not guilty pleas before a federal judge. Outside the courthouse, neither commented.

The arrests came as multiple ongoing federal investigations swirl around Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies, including one inquiry that appears at least partly focused on whether the administration sped up fire safety inspections at the Turkish consulate in exchange for illegal contributions.

Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to say whether the case against the former fire chiefs was related to “any other investigation we may or may not be doing.” But he put people on notice that his office is continuing to pursue any corruption.

“We are determined to address it from root to branch, and our work is far from done,” he said at a news conference.

Cordasco and Saccavino were former chiefs of the city Fire Department's Bureau of Fire Prevention, which is responsible for regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems throughout New York City and ensuring fire safety regulations are obeyed.

Outside the courthouse, attorney Joseph Caldarera called his client, Saccavino, “an American hero,” a 9/11 first responder who had been with the department since 1995. Prosecutors, he said, "got the wrong guy.”

“He vehemently denies all of the allegations against him today,” the lawyer said. “Is this connected to City Hall? Is this connected to Eric Adams? I'm sure that's the next big question. At this time we don't know and we don't have an answer to that question.”

Attorney Frank Rothman, representing Cordasco, told reporters that his client “has been a dedicated firefighter for two decades, serving fearlessly and faithfully.”

He added: “This is indeed a sad and troubling day, but I'm glad he's on his way home.”

While the indictment makes no reference to projects linked to the Turkish government, it does refer to a “City Hall List” allegedly used by the fire department to “track inquiries and requests from City Hall stakeholders” and give priority to those projects. Adams, a Democrat, has previously denied the existence of the priority list.

In a lawsuit filed last year, a former fire chief said the list had grown substantially under Adams, becoming “a mechanism to press the FDNY to permit politically connected developers to cut the inspection line.”

Williams said at Monday's news conference that Cordasco and Saccavino allegedly used the list to "excuse or cover up the way in which they were pressuring other folks to expedite the matters they were being bribed to expedite.”

According to a news release, Saccavino and Cardasco solicited and accepted bribes from a retired firefighter who ran an unsanctioned “expediting” business that promised customers that he could fast-track their plan reviews and inspection dates in exchange for a fee. Williams said the retired firefighter has pleaded guilty to charges in the case.

The trio managed to collect over $190,000 in payments in a scheme they launched after the coronavirus pandemic created a backlog of work for the fire department's fire-safety division, Williams said.

Even as Cordasco allegedly participated in a bribery scheme, he was raising concern internally about the ethics of granting priority to other projects, according to emails obtained last year by The Associated Press and other outlets.

Following a request by City Hall to expedite an inspection at Hudson Yards, a Manhattan mega-development, Cordasco wrote to other chiefs that it was “extremely unfair to the applicants who had been waiting at least eight weeks for their inspections.”

In a statement, Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said the department will “fully cooperate” with the investigation, adding each of his employees has sworn an oath to honest and ethical behavior and that "anything less will not be tolerated.”

Over the weekend, the top legal adviser to Adams abruptly resigned. That came days after the head of the New York Police Department resigned after federal investigators seized his phone.

Associated Press Writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.

This Feb. 7, 2023 image provided by the Fire Department of the City of New York, shows Brian Cordasco, one of two former NYFD chiefs arrested Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to provide preferential treatment in the department's fire prevention bureau. (Fire Department of the City of New York via AP)

This Feb. 7, 2023 image provided by the Fire Department of the City of New York, shows Anthony Saccavino, one of two former NYFD chiefs arrested Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to provide preferential treatment in the department's fire prevention bureau. (Fire Department of the City of New York via AP)

This combo of Feb. 7, 2023 images provided by the Fire Department of the City of New York, shows Brian Cordasco, left, and Anthony Saccavino, two former NYFD chiefs arrested Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to provide preferential treatment in the department's fire prevention bureau. (Fire Department of the City of New York via AP)

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024, following the arrest of two former New York City Fire Department chiefs. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, holds a binder marked confidential during a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024, following the arrest of two former New York City Fire Department chiefs. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge, James E. Dennehy looks on as DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024, following the arrest of two former New York City Fire Department chiefs. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber, speaks as Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, left, and FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge, James E. Dennehy, second from left, look on during a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge, James E. Dennehy, speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams points to a graphic detailing a New York City Fire Department bribery scheme at a press conference at Federal Plaza in New York, Monday Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, points to a graphic detailing a FDNY bribery scheme at a press conference held at the Federal Plaza in New York, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)