Few voters casting early ballots in NYC primaries that will test Mamdani's power

[RandySF]

Young New York City voters flocked early to the polls in June 2025. This year, not so much.

Early voting turnout is down more than 50% compared to this time last year despite several competitive congressional and state legislative primary contests, including three federal races where Mayor Zohran Mamdani made high-stakes endorsements. The low number of early voters could be a sign that the people Mamdani brought to the polls for his own election may not be showing up for his preferred candidates.

A Gothamist analysis of voter data from the Board of Elections found that more than 62,000 voters have checked in at early voting sites citywide after the first four days of early voting. Last year, 131,882 voters had shown up for early voting by this same point, with unusually strong participation from young voters and voters in Brownstone Brooklyn.

This year, the voters are skewing older. Manhattan voters are turning out at nearly double the rate of voters in Brooklyn, the borough with the second-highest turnout and two of the most closely watched congressional primary contests.



https://gothamist.com/news/few-voters-casting-early-ballots-in-nyc-primaries-that-will-test-mamdanis-power