His victory was clear, but it was not as overwhelming as voter surveys at the polls and early tallies had suggested.

Across eight counties in New York, an early tally estimated initial losses at $562.2 million.

Another early tally, by Equilar, suggests that small-company compensation is down after sharp increases in 2004.

The 16-15 vote of passage at 5 A.M. followed two earlier tallies - one before midnight and one after - against the package.

The fast national rating - meaning an early tally - for the two-hour CBS portion of the broadcast was a 6.4.

The results were among early tallies from citywide school board elections.

Government spokesmen characterized the earlier tally as an unfortunate administrative reporting error.

The fast national rating for the two-hour CBS broadcast - meaning an early tally - was the lowest ever: 6.1, down from 7.0 last year.

Mr. Jones held a commanding lead over the other candidates in the early tally, winning more than 50 percent of the vote.

In each of four earlier tallies, the city with the fewest votes was eliminated and another balloting took place.