Early voting has commenced in NYC as the mayoral election on Nov. 4 barrels closer. Voters can find their polling site through the NYC Board of Elections website and submit their vote early from Oct. 25, 2025 to Nov. 2, 2025. Polling sites are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with the exception of: Tuesday, Oct. 28, Wednesday, Oct. 29 and Friday, Oct. 31. According to a poll by Emerson College, Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani is advancing with a 25 percent lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. Moreover, the same poll found that 58 percent of New Yorkers that voted early have voted for Mamdani.
A poll from Marist College finds Mamdani at the lead, with 48 percent of voter support, Cuomo with 32 percent, and Curtis Sliwa at 16 percent. The executive director of Emerson College Polling, Spencer Kimball stated Mamdani is popular amongst the younger generation; He has the support of 69 percent of voters under 50 and 37 percent of voters over 50. While 31 percent of voters over 50 support Cuomo, and 28 percent support Silwa.
As of Oct. 30, the sixth day of early voting, an unofficial cumulative of 398,477 voters in the city have cast their votes. Furthermore, the age demographic of early voters have shifted, as voters aged 55 and older made up half of the turnout, as opposed to the dominance of voters ages 25 to 34 in the primary election.
Moreover, New Yorkers that haven’t participated in previous elections have felt more inclined to vote this time around. 28-year-old Jose Reyna is a Mexican immigrant who has lived in the city for years, and is voting in the mayoral election for the first time: “I felt like the government hasn’t represented me or my community, so I never felt the need to vote. I was always the youngest so I never felt like I had anything to lose.” However, the birth of his nephew, “made me change my perspective on a lot of things… like how he’ll be affected,” Reyna said.
When asked if voting early seemed attractive this election, as opposed to previous ones, 20-year-old Janira Cortez, a junior at St. Francis College stated, “Yes, I want to make it my priority that Mamdani wins.” Cortez continued, “early voting is much more convenient, not everyone has the time to go on election day.”
Similarly, James Sosa, a 21 year-old student at Brooklyn College voted early, “It’s been rare to see a young candidate step into [this] position, one that I believe has grown up in the same New York that I have.”
Gen-Z New Yorkers are seeing a piece of themselves within Mamdani as a candidate and have been more inclined to vote to see the change they’re looking for.
