PRIMARY DAY: What you need to know about last day to vote in Democratic mayor’s race and other contests

After weeks of debates, early voting, campaign mailers and incessant television ads, primary day is upon us in the 2025 NYC mayor’s race.

There are a number of other important races on the ballot, from local City Council races, Public Advocate and Comptroller contests, judgeships and more.

The polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday and will close at 9 p.m. tonight. Here’s what you need to know before you head to the polls!

The big one: Democratic mayoral primary

The 2025 NYC mayor’s race has drawn a packed field vying to replace the incumbent, Eric Adams, and will be the marquee contest topping voters’ ballots in the June 24 Democratic primary.

While the incumbent mayor is opting to wait till November and run as an independent, the Democratic primary seems to be coming down to two main candidates: moderate former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and socialist Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo has lead the Democratic field from the start, but Mamdani has gained considerable ground in recent weeks — and in a poll released Monday, wound up topping Cuomo in a ranked-choice simulation.

Other Democrats running against Cuomo and Mamdani include City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos and former Bronx Assembly Member Michael Blake.

It is not expected that a candidate will secure a majority of the vote in the first round, which means the contest will be decided when the NYC Board of Elections tabulates ranked-choice votes. Results may not be known for at least another week.

Races for comptroller and public advocate

As New Yorkers begin heading to the polls for early voting in a couple of weeks, there will be several other races on their ballots, including the heated contest to replace Lander as city comptroller. The two main contestants in that race are Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and Brooklyn City Council Member Justin Brannan.

In the race for New York City’s public advocate — the city government’s main elected watchdog who serves in a non-voting capacity on the City Council and sits first in the mayoral line of succession — a primary challenge to incumbent Jumaane Williams is heating up ahead of the city’s Democratic primary election on June 24. Queens Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar is Williams’ main challenger.

How and where to vote

All of the citywide contests will be decided through ranked-choice voting. What exactly is it? How does it work? And how do I get the most out of it? Find out here.

If you can’t find your voting site, visit the NYC Board of Elections poll finder.

Borough-by-borough contests

Along with the major citywide races, there are a number of local contests on the ballot. Here are links to them by borough from our sister sites, Bronx Times, Brooklyn Paper and QNS.