New Yorkers are turning out in critical mass to vote early in this year’s local primary elections, according to data published by the New York City Board of Elections. As of Tuesday, early voter turnout has increased 105% compared to the same period in the 2021 primaries.
According to the most recent data from the Board of Elections, which accounts for voter turnout through Tuesday, June 17, 131,882 New Yorkers have so far checked in at an early voting site to cast their ballot in this year’s primary elections. Tuesday marked the fourth day of early voting, which began Saturday. On the fourth day of early primary election voting in 2021, 64,288 voters had so far checked in at an early voting site.
Brooklyn and Manhattan have so far had the highest voter turnout, with 47,052 and 43,427 check-ins so far, respectively.
Queens has seen the third highest with 26,383 check-ins, The Bronx the fourth highest with 10,497 check-ins, and Staten Island the least with 4,523. Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan have seen the greatest increase in voter turnout since 2021 with 140%, 115%, and 114%, respectively.
So far, day four of early voting, Tuesday, has seen the highest turnout with roughly 38,000 check-ins across the city. The day marked a historic moment in the New York City political scene, as Comptroller Brad Lander, a candidate for mayor polling third and fourth by most estimates, was forcefully detained by federal agents at a federal immigration court in lower Manhattan. Lander was attempting to prevent an immigrant from leaving his hearing from being arrested.
Though the increase in early check-ins is massive, early voting in 2021 was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a large proportion of New York’s voters to vote by mail or absentee ballot.
The hike in turnout is highlighting the intensity of the Democratic mayoral primary, which is playing host to a field of 11 candidates. The race has heated up in recent weeks as Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens) inches closer to former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the polls. The two have increasingly exchanged insults and political attacks, and a few other candidates have chosen to throw their support behind one of the leaders in an effort to coalition-build as Election Day approaches.
New York City utilizes ranked choice voting, a process in which voters may select up to five candidates in order of preference, knowing that should their first choice fail to gather enough support, their vote will go to another candidate of their choosing. State Senator Jessica Ramos (D-Queens), who is vying for the nomination, made waves when she endorsed Cuomo, whom she had previously railed against as unfit to lead following a slew of sexual harassment allegations that drove him out of Albany in 2021.
Mamdani and Comptroller Brad Lander cross-endorsed one another last week, and Mamdani and former Assemblymember Michael Blake (D-Bronx) cross-endorsed each other on Monday. Both Mamdani and Cuomo have picked up critical endorsements across New York’s local politics scene, and the Mamdani campaign’s stunning display of grassroots organizing power has thrust the 33-year-old into a historic sprint against the former governor.
Early voting will continue through Sunday, and the primary election will take place on Tuesday.
Due to the multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting—eliminating low-performing mayoral hopefuls in each round and moving votes around the election pool until one candidate collects over 50 percent of votes—it may be several days before New Yorkers will know who will represent the Democratic party in the general election this fall.
