A top official on the Board of Elections in New York has been ousted after a controversy over voter registration. 

Diane Haslett-Rudiano, chief clerk in Brooklyn, was suspended without pay pending an investigation over the thousands of complaints that were lodged when voters turned up during the recent primary. 

The issues varied from voters being told that they were not registered at all, or that they were not registered with either the Democrats or the Republicans. There were also issues of voters not being allowed to cast affidavit ballots, where voters can swear that they enrolled with the correct party.

The move comes after the New York City Comptroller said that he would audit the Elections Board, stating "Why is it alleged that 125,000 people have been removed from the voter rolls? Why did 60,000 people receive notices to vote that didn’t have the primary date? Why were people told they were in the wrong polling place time and time again?".

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman echoed that, stating that there were over 1,000 complaints from voters, adding that he was "deeply troubled by the volume and consistency of voting irregularities."

Mayor Bill de Blasio also backed the investigation, saying it was reported that "voting lists in Brooklyn contain numerous errors, including the purging of entire buildings and blocks of voters from voting lists. I am calling on the Board of Election to reverse that purge and update the lists again."