NYC Voters Run To The Polls On First Day of Early Voting — With Impressive Five Time Increase To Last Mayoral Race

New York City’s mayoral contest kicked off with a political jolt today as voters turned out in record numbers for the first day of early voting, with participation soaring to nearly five times the level seen at the start of the 2021 race, according to the city’s Board of Elections.

The fierce race to succeed Mayor Eric Adams has drawn national attention, featuring Independent candidate and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Democratic Socialist nominee Zohran Mamdani, and Republican contender Curtis Sliwa, the beret-wearing founder of the Guardian Angels.

Election officials said 79,409 voters checked in at polling stations by tonight — a remarkable increase from the 15,418 who participated on the first day of early voting four years ago. The citywide breakdown included 24,046 ballots in Manhattan, 22,105 in Brooklyn, 19,045 in Queens, 7,793 in the Bronx, and 6,420 in Staten Island.

In 2021, the numbers were dramatically lower — just 4,563 in Manhattan, 3,751 in Brooklyn, 3,441 in Queens, 2,079 in the Bronx, and 1,584 in Staten Island, according to Board of Elections data.

Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s longtime political aide, celebrated the surge in participation on social media. “If these numbers hold, we could see 1.9M person turnout,” she wrote, predicting a historic level of engagement in the city’s election.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old assemblyman from Queens and vocal supporter of Palestine, currently leads in the polls by a wide margin. Surveys show him far ahead of Cuomo, with 46.7% support compared to Cuomo’s 28.6%, while Sliwa trails behind at 16.2%, according to new polling from Victory Insights.

The Democratic Socialist’s unexpected rise has been fraught with controversy. His outspoken views on policing, education, and Israel have alienated many establishment Democrats, and several major party figures have declined to endorse him. Still, his grassroots base has propelled him to the top of the field, giving him a commanding edge heading into election week.

Mamdani has also made international headlines by declaring that, if elected, he would order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu as a “war criminal” should he ever visit New York City.

The three-way contest has featured sharp exchanges over crime, housing, affordability, and each candidate’s stance on Israel and President Trump. The campaign follows Mayor Adams’ abrupt suspension of his re-election bid last month after fundraising dried up amid a federal corruption probe, from which he was later cleared.

With Democrats outnumbering Republicans by more than six to one, most city races remain largely noncompetitive. In 2021, Adams easily defeated Sliwa with nearly 67% of the 1.1 million votes cast during the waning days of the pandemic.

Despite Mamdani’s strong lead, Cuomo’s camp framed the robust early turnout as a positive sign for their candidate. “It’s been clear most voters don’t want New York City to be a socialist experiment with a diminished police force, no jails, decriminalized prostitution, a weakened education system that encourages mediocrity,” said Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi. “This is the most important election of our lifetime and the turnout thus far shows that New Yorkers know it.”

{Matzav.com}