Early voting kicked off with a bang this weekend, bringing in an impressive number of voters in a few days compared to the 2021 mayoral election.
The top three mayoral candidates include Democrat nominee Zohran K. Mamdani, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams’ name still appears on the ballot, but he officially dropped out of the running in September. In terms of polling, Mamdani is still out front with Cuomo gaining in second.
“I’m extremely excited about the early turnout. The numbers are showing voters over 40 in particular are showing up,” said Ny Whitaker, a former White House senior advisor and founder of Project Nyne, LLC, who created the campaign group New York for Harris. “Finally New Yorkers are seeing the benefits and taking advantage of early voting.”
As of Oct. 28, two days of early voting counts have been completed. The “unofficial” tally of New Yorkers who cast their ballots was 223,268, according to the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) via X. Manhattan and Brooklyn were competing for the boroughs with the most votes cast so far, with 67,110 and 67,729 respectively.
Ariama C. Long photos
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Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa campaigned with supporters on Saturday in Bay Ridge on Oct. 25. -
From left to right: Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte, Assemblymember Monique Chandler-Waterman, mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and Councilmember Farah Louis with early voting canvassers in Flatbush, Brooklyn on Saturday, Oct. 25. -
Blank Kings County ballot for the NYC 2025 general election. -
A NYC Fast Pass Tag mailer and ballot sleeve for 2025 elections. -
Two Brooklyn voters at an early voting polling site at Remsen Hall on Sunday, Oct. 26.
At this time in 2021, two days into early voting, only 31,176 voters had been reported by BOE officials. Whitaker said that plenty of Black and Latino voters are going with “hopeful” Mamdani, while others are choosing Cuomo because of his “experience.” People unexpectedly found Sliwa funny and charming in the debates, even if they didn’t agree with his policies. Regardless, she believes it’s a two-man race at this point.
“I think people are trying to decide if they want substance over soundbites,” said Whitaker.
Whitaker said that registered unaffiliated voters are the biggest group that could sway the election because they are not often polled and they did not vote in this year’s primary.
In addition to electing city leaders, there are six important ballot proposals for voters to consider: one of the ballot proposals focuses on a statewide environmental issue; the bulk of this year’s proposals are about housing production and land use due to Adams’ Charter Revision Commission (CRC); one is about digitizing a map for the city, and the last proposal is about switching all elections to even years.
Early voting polls will be open until Sunday, November 2. (Hours vary). Voters may also cast a vote by absentee ballot, as long as it is postmarked no later than Nov. 2. Voters can also drop off completed absentee ballots at any early voting or Election Day poll site.
An assigned early voting location is different from your regular Election Day poll site. To find your early voting and Election Day polling places, go to findmypollsite.vote.nyc/.
Election Day is on Tuesday, November 4, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. For questions and assistance, you can call or text: 1-866-Vote-NYC
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