Final early voting data for the 2025 New York City primary election published by the Board of Elections (NYC BOE) shows a massive spike in turnout since 2021 across the five boroughs — particularly in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.
Manhattan saw 122,642 early voter check-ins between June 14 and June 22, a 102% increase since 2021. In Brooklyn, the NYC BOE counted 142,735 early votes, a 118% increase. Queens saw 75,778 votes for a 114% increase, The Bronx saw 30,816 early voter check-ins, a 50% increase from 2021, and Staten Island saw a 36% increase since 2021 with 12,367 reported check-ins.
In total, the NYC BOE counted 384,338 early voting check-ins across the city in nine days of early voting — slightly more than twice the 191,197 check-ins at the end of early voting in the 2021 primaries.
The dramatically higher turnout signals an acute increase in early voter engagement in what has been a uniquely competitive primary race. Turnout in 2021 was likely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 election saw a spike in mail-in and absentee voting.
Voter turnout on Tuesday, the day of the primary election, will likely be impacted by a brutal heatwave set to peak Tuesday afternoon with expected temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. As polling sites prepare to keep New Yorkers hydrated and shaded in long voting lines, early voting results may come to mean more if the heat and humidity keep would-be voters at home on Tuesday.
Surge in youth turnout in early voting
A data analysis by the Gothamist shows higher early voter turnout among New Yorkers ages 25-34 than any other age group. The age group with the lowest turnout remains voters aged 18-24, according to the Gothamist’s analysis.
The high turnout among voters in their 20s and 30s could be a positive signal for 33-year-old socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens), who is favored by most younger voters in recent polls.
A poll published Monday morning by Emerson College shows Mamdani eking out a final round ranked-choice voting win against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The survey is the first major, nonpartisan poll to predict a win for Mamdani, who has steadily climbed in polls as Cuomo’s favorability appeared to stagnate.
The Emerson poll shows Mamdani winning voters under 50 and Cuomo winning voters over 50. Cuomo will likely depend on older voters, who tend to show out in greater force on Primary Day itself, to counteract Mamdani’s preference among the younger electorate.
With a wide field of 11 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, a potential political comeback for Cuomo, an unlikely surge of support for Mamdani, and cross-endorsements among candidates racing to City Hall, the 2025 NYC Democratic mayoral primary has drawn national attention.
Primary Day is set for Tuesday, though the process of ranked-choice voting — through which voters may rank up to five candidates and allocate their ballot to another mayoral hopeful should their top choice fail to collect enough votes — may delay actual election results by several days.
