More than 223,000 New Yorkers cast ballots over the first three days of early voting, suggesting strong enthusiasm over the mayoral matchup featuring Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Over Saturday and Sunday, 164,190 voters hit the ballot boxes, with an additional 59,078 New Yorkers casting their votes on Monday, tabulations from the city Board of Elections show.
Those numbers were far more than the 94,112 who cast ballots over the first three days of early voting in June’s Democratic mayoral primary, won by Mamdani. He’s polling as the clear favorite to prevail in next Tuesday’s general election, too.
These numbers also surpass the number of early voters for the entire early voting period in the 2021 general election, which saw 170,000 early voters in total, though that election wasn’t viewed as competitive and was the first citywide contest in which early voting was offered.
Voters aged 55 and older made up just over half of the weekend’s numbers, a data analysis from Gothamist/WNYC found. Voters in that age bracket generally lean more conservative, while younger voters tend to lean more progressive.
Cuomo claims stats signal victory
Cuomo was quick to claim the older voter stats as a victory.
“There’s fear in this city, there’s anger in this city, there’s frustration in this city,” he said at a campaign stop in Harlem. “It’s all percolating, and you can feel it up there. And I feel very good, because New Yorkers, at the end of the day, they want a mayor who can do the job.”
In a statement, his campaign also touted a new Suffolk University poll showing Mamdani leading Cuomo by 10 points, 44% to 34%, cutting in half the lead the democratic socialist held over the ex-governor in the same poll a month ago.
“This is exactly where Mamdani was at this point in the primary, and it’s clear that Andrew Cuomo’s message of competent leadership, along with his agenda to increase public safety, end the housing and affordability crisis, and strengthen our economy and education system, is resonating,” the Cuomo campaign said in a statement.
While greeting voters near a polling site on the Upper East Side on Monday afternoon, Mamdani waved off the idea that high turnout among older voters would be bad news for him.
“I think it’s great to see this turnout,” the candidate said. “I think we should always celebrate when more New Yorkers are going to the polls, and I continue to be confident in our campaign as well as in our outreach to voters above the age of 55.”
Speaking to the Daily News in between shaking hands with voters in the neighborhood with Manhattan state Sen. Liz Krueger, a centrist Democrat, Mamdani said there’s also a silver lining in having a voter base that’s predominantly young.
“I’ve heard from so many older New Yorkers that it’s been their kids, their grandkids, their nephews, their nieces who also introduced them to this campaign over the last few months, and that’s been so exciting to see how this coalition is actually broadening,” Mamdani said, adding that “affordability” remains a major priority for older New Yorkers too.
Later in the day, Mamdani’s campaign sent out an email to supporters voicing a different message.
“Turnout is already 5 times higher than the 2021 mayoral election — and the highest number of early voters so far are in age brackets where Cuomo either ties or leads Zohran in the latest polls,” read the email, which urged Mamdani supporters to sign up to canvass for him in the final days of the race.
In Brooklyn, 67,729 cast ballots over the first three days of early voting, followed by Manhattan with 67,110 voters and Queens with 52,272. In the Bronx, 19,096 checked in, and 17,061 voted on Staten Island, tabulations show.
Early voting will continue through Nov. 2, with Election Day the following Tuesday, Nov. 4.