Voters have already begun to forged their ballots in New York Metropolis, the place a closely-watched Democratic Occasion main for the upcoming mayoral election has attracted consideration throughout the nation.
Polls open Tuesday following 9 days of early voting that got here to an in depth Sunday.
The race, which is being led by Andrew Cuomo, a former governor and son of a former mayor promising institution expertise, and Zohran Mamdani, a younger Democratic socialist state meeting member who has promised to sort out cost-of-living points, has underscored ongoing debate about the way forward for the Democratic Occasion in New York and past.
The winner of the Democratic main is taken into account the sturdy favorite to win the overall election in November, with the present mayor deeply unpopular attributable to scandals and allegations of corruption, and the Republican candidate a long-shot within the firmly Democratic-leaning metropolis.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who’s a Democrat, introduced earlier this 12 months he was opting out of the primaries to run as an unbiased.
The race has additionally introduced consideration to town’s ranked-choice voting system, which permits voters to rank a number of candidates when it comes to desire fairly than casting their vote for a single candidate.
What’s the state of the race as voters head to the polls, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of ranked selection voting? We take a fast have a look at that and extra.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo addresses the media following a speech at an occasion for the Worldwide Brotherhood of Electrical Staff on June 22, 2025, in New York Metropolis (Alex Kent/Getty Pictures by way of AFP)
When does voting happen?
The New York Metropolis Democratic mayoral main takes place on June 24, with polls open from 6am to 9pm. Early voting passed off between June 14 and June 22.
Who’re the candidates?
Cuomo and Mamdani are neck and neck within the polls, whereas a handful of extra candidates are competing to guide the nation’s largest metropolis as properly.
Cuomo, a 67-year-old centrist former governor from a New York political dynasty, is making an attempt a return to political life after a report discovered that he had sexually harassed not less than 11 girls throughout his time as governor, prompting widespread requires his resignation that he ultimately succumbed to in 2021.
The previous governor has pitched himself as an skilled determine most able to guiding town at a time when it’s dealing with better scrutiny from the federal authorities below the administration of United States President Donald Trump over questions resembling immigration enforcement.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist and state legislator with an immigrant background, has run a marketing campaign that was at first given low odds of success however has ticked steadily upwards because the younger lawmaker makes an unflinchingly progressive pitch to voters. He has promised to shake up town’s political institution and institute insurance policies resembling a freeze on hire will increase and free public buses.
Whereas Cuomo and Mamdani have attracted probably the most nationwide consideration, they aren’t the one candidates working.
They embody Comptroller Brad Lander; New York Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams; former Comptroller Scott Stringer; State Senator Jessica Ramos; State Senator Zellnor Myrie; Michael Blake, a political marketing consultant and former state legislator; and Whitney Tilson, an investor.
Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani speaks through the New York Metropolis Democratic Mayoral Main Debate on the John Jay School of Legal Justice within the Gerald W Lynch Theater on June 12, 2025, in New York Metropolis (Vincent Alaban/Pool by way of AFP)
Why has this race been so notable?
Befitting New York’s standing as one of many world’s nice cities, the race for mayor has included loads of drama.
Cuomo’s tried return to energy after a earlier fall from grace as governor, paired with Mamdani’s younger and vibrant marketing campaign with sturdy appeals to town’s pluralistic id, has created a stark distinction between competing visions for town’s future.
Cuomo has been endorsed by centrist figures resembling former President Invoice Clinton, whereas Mamdani has received endorsements from progressive figures resembling Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Battle within the Center East has additionally loomed massive over the race. Cuomo, a agency supporter of Israel, has promised to crack down on anti-Semitism. Mamdani, an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, has spoken about receiving anti-Muslim demise threats through the marketing campaign.
The Trump administration’s aggressive method to immigration enforcement has additionally been a flash level. Metropolis officers and candidates reacted with anger final week when federal immigration brokers quickly arrested Lander, town’s comptroller, whereas he was escorting a person exterior of immigration courtroom.
What does the latest polling inform us?
Latest polls present an in depth contest between Mamdani and Cuomo.
An Emerson ballot launched on Monday reveals Cuomo with 35 % of the vote, Mamdani on the upswing with 33 %, Lander with 13 %, and Adrienne Adams in fourth, with 8 %.
A earlier Emerson ballot in late Could confirmed Cuomo with 34 %, Mamdani with 22 %, Lander with 10 %, and Adrienne Adams with 8 %.
A June ballot by Marist reveals Cuomo with 55 % within the last spherical, beating Mamdani with 45 %, whereas the Emerson ballot reveals Mamdani with 52 % within the last spherical to Cuomo’s 48 %.
When will we all know the outcomes?
Polls shut at 9pm on Tuesday (01:00 GMT, Wednesday), and a few preliminary information must be obtainable inside a number of hours. However the last outcome will take longer to tabulate due to town’s ranked-choice voting system.
Ranked selection tabulation doesn’t start till July 1, as town waits for the arrival of all mail-in ballots. The official outcome will likely be licensed on July 15, however could possibly be identified earlier.
What’s ranked selection voting?
With ranked selection voting, individuals rank a number of candidates when it comes to desire fairly than deciding on a single candidate.
Whereas that is extra complicated than a standard election, supporters argue that it permits voters to specific their preferences with out making an all-or-nothing choice with their vote.
In New York, voters rank as many as 5 candidates so as of their favourability. Within the first spherical of vote-counting, solely first decisions are tallied. If one candidate receives a transparent majority of greater than 50 %, they win the race outright.
But when not, the candidate who acquired the bottom variety of first-choice votes is dropped, and the votes of those that ranked them first accrue to the second-choice decide on their ballots.
That course of continues till solely two candidates stay, with the one receiving probably the most votes profitable.
What are its strengths?
Advocates of ranked selection voting say that it permits individuals to vote for the candidate that they like probably the most with out worrying about their probabilities of profitable.
In case you like Mamdani and consider he’s the candidate with one of the best likelihood of profitable, however would favor Lander, for instance, you possibly can rank Lander first and Mamdani second.
This fashion, individuals can go together with the candidate that they determine with probably the most strongly with out feeling like they’re “throwing their vote away”: In case your most well-liked candidate is knocked out, your votes can nonetheless accrue to the opposite candidates you will have ranked and have an effect on the result of the race.
Some additionally make the case that ranked selection makes it troublesome for a candidate to win with out a point of broad help, since candidates profit in the event that they carry out properly not simply with their very own core of supporters however the supporters of a number of different candidates as properly.
Absentee ballots sit inside a sealed poll field throughout early voting in a main election on June 14, 2023, within the SoHo neighbourhood of New York Metropolis (Mary Altaffer/AP Picture)
What are its weaknesses?
One downside of the system is its complexity. Even voters who’ve participated in elections with ranked selection voting up to now can battle to grasp the implications of their rankings, though the idea of selecting a sequence of candidates based mostly on desire is straightforward sufficient.
Some additionally consider that the method is much less clear, since a pc is tasked with tabulating and redistributing votes in every spherical, which additionally signifies that it’s harder for conventional sources of election updates, resembling information organisations, to comply with developments.
Some errors additionally occurred when ranked selection voting was first utilized in New York Metropolis in 2021, including confusion to the proceedings and bringing allegations that election authorities weren’t correctly ready to implement the brand new system. Officers will hope to keep away from comparable mishaps this time round.
