Early Voting Has Begun in New York City’s Mayoral Race: Here’s What to Know

Voters are required to rank their preferred candidates, which makes polling difficult. Candidates are making ‘cross endorsements’ to secure their rankings.

Desiree, a first-time voter, displays her sticker after casting her early vote in the Democratic primary in Astoria, N.Y., on June 16, 2025. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

NEW YORK CITY—New York City’s process of electing its next mayor is now underway.

New Yorkers began casting their early ballots on June 14 in the Democratic primary contest for the city’s 2025 mayoral election, which will be held on Nov. 4.

It is well-known that America’s largest city leans left—thus, for years, the Democratic primary has been the real contest to determine the next mayor.

But not this time. The incumbent, Eric Adams, was elected as a Democrat in 2021 but has since left the party and is running as an independent. His approval rating is the lowest of any New York mayor in nearly 30 years, making the general election competitive. Among Democrats, the state of New York’s former governor, Andrew Cuomo—who resigned in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations—is the clear front-runner in polls.

Among 10 other candidates, his principal opponent is state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D), a 33-year-old progressive who has dramatically narrowed Cuomo’s lead in recent weeks. The race has been polarized over crime, the war in Gaza, federal immigration enforcement, and the cost of living.

Yet, because of New York’s ranked-choice voting system, opinion polls do not capture how voters will rank the several candidates—which, over multiple rounds, could yield unexpected outcomes. The result is great uncertainty amid high stakes. The Epoch Times recently traveled around New York to speak with early voters; below is what we found.

Ranked Choice Voting

New York is holding elections for all citywide offices in 2025. Apart from the mayor, voters are electing their public advocate, city comptroller, district attorneys, borough presidents, and city councilors. Each of these offices is on the Democratic primary ballot, with incumbents running for reelection.

Unlike many jurisdictions—which use a “first past the post” system where the candidate with the most votes wins—New York uses a ranked-choice system in which voters rank each candidate according to their preferences. Tabulation occurs in rounds: In the first round, each candidate receives his or her first-preference votes.

A poster outside an early voting location in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan explains ranked choice voting during the 2025 New York mayoral primary election. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

If none have greater than 50 percent support, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated from the race, and their votes are reallocated to those voters’ second-preference candidate. This process of elimination and reallocation by preference occurs in rounds until one candidate exceeds 50 percent support and wins.

In the latest major poll, conducted from May 23–26 by Emerson College, Cuomo has 35 percent support, followed by Mamdani at 23 percent. In order for either man to top 50 percent support, he will require the lower-preference votes of the other candidates as the race goes to multiple rounds.

Mamdani, recognizing this fact, has obtained the “cross-endorsement” of two other mayoral candidates—City Comptroller Brad Lander and former Assemblyman Michael Blake—whereby Lander and Blake’s supporters will rank Mamdani highly, and vice versa. Lander and Blake have 11 percent and 2 percent support, respectively. Cuomo has received no cross-endorsements.

What Voters Said

The Epoch Times visited polling places to speak with voters about the process. Most of them reported that voting was logistically easy but indicated some initial confusion about the ranked-choice process, which was introduced in 2021.

“Ranked choice is new for me, so I did a lot of research to make sure what [it] means,” said Desiree, a voter in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, which is represented by Mamdani in the state assembly. “I wanted to make sure I was filling out my ballot correctly,” she added, while noting that there was “no line.”

Signs in multiple languages are displayed outside a polling location in Astoria, Queens, N.Y., during the primary. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

If voters do not like a candidate, they can omit that individual from their rankings. Many voters who supported either Cuomo or Mamdani spoke poorly of the other candidate and told The Epoch Times they omitted that candidate to ensure their votes would not be reallocated.

“I did not rank Cuomo at all,” said Sadia Hanif, a Mamdani supporter in Astoria, as she exited the polling station.

Some voters said they wanted only one candidate, and thus just ranked that individual as “1” while leaving all other spots blank. Amy Brodance, a real estate broker in Manhattan, told The Epoch Times she voted only for Cuomo.

“[I] definitely stay[ed] away from the other ones,” said Simon Ruzick, a resident of Chelsea. He ranked Cuomo first, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine second, and left the rest of the list blank.

Every voter with whom The Epoch Times spoke agreed that the process was seamless. Unlike on election day, there were no long lines to enter the polling locations.

Voters are expressly not required to show identification, though they must be registered to vote and have to provide such ID while registering. This rule has been controversial among advocates for election security.

The door to an early voting polling location at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, N.Y., during the primary. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times

Ruzick, who voted at the campus of the Fashion Institute of Technology on West 28th Street in Manhattan, said he had to provide ID to enter the building, but not when he reached the polling station.

Early voting polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The early voting period ends on June 22.