New York City Sees Historic Voter Turnout in Mayoral Election, Bringing it to a Level Not Seen Since the 1960s.
As polls closed on Tuesday evening, the city's voters had already broken records, casting over two million ballots. The sheer volume of participants is a stark contrast to the low turnout witnessed during the 2021 mayoral election, when only 23% of registered voters participated. This year, early voting saw a record-breaking 735,000 voters cast their ballots, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the most highly contested elections in recent history.
The city's voter apathy towards its mayoral elections had been evident in 2021, when only 1.15 million New Yorkers voted, resulting in Eric Adams winning the election by a margin of nearly 40 points over Curtis Sliwa. However, this year's turnout appears to be significantly higher, drawing comparisons to past high-water marks.
The last time voter turnout in NYC reached historic levels was back in 2001 when Michael Bloomberg defeated Mark Green with over 1.52 million votes cast. This was a notable exception given the circumstances of the election taking place just months after the devastating 9/11 attacks.
More recent elections had seen similar high levels of engagement, most notably the 1989 and 1993 elections, where David Dinkins and John Lindsay respectively secured their positions as mayor by a landslide.
With only hours left to close the polls, it remains possible that more than two million voters will cast their ballots. If this were to happen, it would mark a throwback to the city's election patterns in the 1960s, when voter turnout was significantly higher, with John Lindsay winning re-election in 1969 on just the Liberal Party line, securing over 2.46 million votes.
As polls closed on Tuesday evening, the city's voters had already broken records, casting over two million ballots. The sheer volume of participants is a stark contrast to the low turnout witnessed during the 2021 mayoral election, when only 23% of registered voters participated. This year, early voting saw a record-breaking 735,000 voters cast their ballots, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the most highly contested elections in recent history.
The city's voter apathy towards its mayoral elections had been evident in 2021, when only 1.15 million New Yorkers voted, resulting in Eric Adams winning the election by a margin of nearly 40 points over Curtis Sliwa. However, this year's turnout appears to be significantly higher, drawing comparisons to past high-water marks.
The last time voter turnout in NYC reached historic levels was back in 2001 when Michael Bloomberg defeated Mark Green with over 1.52 million votes cast. This was a notable exception given the circumstances of the election taking place just months after the devastating 9/11 attacks.
More recent elections had seen similar high levels of engagement, most notably the 1989 and 1993 elections, where David Dinkins and John Lindsay respectively secured their positions as mayor by a landslide.
With only hours left to close the polls, it remains possible that more than two million voters will cast their ballots. If this were to happen, it would mark a throwback to the city's election patterns in the 1960s, when voter turnout was significantly higher, with John Lindsay winning re-election in 1969 on just the Liberal Party line, securing over 2.46 million votes.
. I mean, it's not like they had nothing better to do or anything... The record turnout is kind of a big deal, but let's be real, it's still just a bunch of people following the rules and stuff. Don't get me wrong, more people participating in elections is always a good thing, but can we really say that this means anything? It's not like the outcome of the election actually matters to anyone...
I'm loving this trend of record-breaking voter turnout in NYC! 
It's so cool to see the city coming together and exercising their right to vote. The fact that early voting saw a massive 735k voters cast their ballots is insane! 
40 points of a margin is no joke! I'm definitely keeping an eye on this one... will be interesting to see who comes out on top 
this kind of high voter turnout is exactly what our democracy needs to thrive.
. I'm glad to see that NYC is breaking records and setting an example for other cities to follow. 735,000 early votes alone is a record-breaker 
I'm totally stoked about this news! A record-breaking two mil voters is exactly what NYC needed - more voices at the table, you know? 
The fact that early voting smashed records too is just a testament to how engaged the people are right now. It's like they're finally waking up and realizing their votes matter 
. I mean, 40 points difference in Eric Adams' win over Curtis Sliwa sounds pretty meh compared to what we saw here. Bring on more folks at the polls and let's see who comes out on top! 
! NYC is finally waking up and speaking loud 
! The turnout is insane 
, like a whole new level of civic engagement 
! I'm really rooting for a strong candidate who can bring about real change 
! Can't wait to see what the future holds for our city 
. The stats are wild – 2 million+ ballots cast? That's a whole lotta people getting involved! 
. It'll be fascinating to see how this all plays out, fingers crossed for an epic election 
.
! Seriously though, a record-high voter turnout is awesome, it shows people are actually paying attention to who they want as their mayor. I mean, we can't have another 9/11-style distraction to stop us from voting, right? 
!
I'm literally thrilled to see NYC breaking records for voter turnout! 
My only hope is that all these engaged voters will make their voices heard and choose leaders who genuinely care about the community. Fingers crossed! 
what's behind this huge turnout btw? is it the candidates or something else?
Eric Adams has nothing to worry about lol, I mean Curtis Sliwa got thrashed in 2021 but this time its all about the people 
. The fact that early voting broke records is a testament to the city's growing desire for more involvement in local politics 
... now we just need to see how the rest of the election plays out 
!
. The last time voter turnout was this high was back in the '60s, which is wild considering how much has changed since then.
. And who knows, maybe this will set a new record? I'm thinking we might see over 2.5 million votes cast by the end of tonight 
. but seriously, 40 point margin in 2021 seems laughable now. maybe it's just the novelty of online voting that's getting ppl excited. anyway, it'll be wild to see who wins this thing 