NEW YORK, Oct 28 (APP): Early voting in the New York City (NYC) mayoral election shows a massive jump in turnout on the first two days, signaling a hopeful trend for lead candidate Zohran Mamdani as he carried forward the momentum with a huge rally in Queens, a borough of this city of nearly nine million.
The early voting began on Saturday and by Sunday evening, 164,190 New Yorkers had cast their ballot as candidates entered the last stretch of their campaigns before November 4 election day.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim, is the Democratic Party nominee for the Mayoral election. He is pitched against former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is fighting as an independent candidate after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary. Also in the race is Curtis Sliwa, the Republican Party nominee.
Mamdani, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian’s cause, was born in Kampala, Uganda. His father is academic Mahmood Mamdani and his mother is filmmaker Mira Nair. Mamdani’s family immigrated to South Africa when he was five years old and then to the United States when he was seven, settling in New York City.
According to reports, the NYC Board of Elections figures for the first two days outnumber even the June primary voter turnout, when Mamdani downed Cuomo.
A comparison with turnout on the first two days of early voting for 2021 election – 31,176 – shows a remarkable five-times greater surge among NYC voters’ enthusiasm, though the 2021 election took place during pandemic.
The first two days of the primary contest among Democratic hopefuls in June 2025 saw 66,361 electorates cast ballots.
However, it is hard to determine exactly how much Mamdani is currently benefiting from the soaring voter turnout or if Cuomo is also garnering more support compared to this summer’s primary.
According to an analysis cited by Gothamist, voters ages 55 and older made up just over 50% of the early voting turnout on Saturday and Sunday.
By comparison, voters, aged 25 to 34, had dominated turnout during early voting in June Democratic primary.
Voters aged 25 to 34 accounted for nearly 16% of the early voting turnout on the first two days of early voting, while they made a quarter of the turnout on the first two days in the primary.
On Sunday, Mamdani drew a packed audience at a Queens stadium campaign event, joined by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The self-described Democratic socialist described his popular campaign as “a movement of the masses.”
“When you insist on building a coalition with room for every New Yorker, that is exactly what you create: a tremendous force,” Mamdani said, addressing the crowd as pictures showed people from several diverse communities attending the event.
“This, my friends, was your movement, and it always will be,” he declared.
In a reminder of that still needs to be done amid competition his challengers have stepped up in recent days, Mamdani told his supporters to come out in big numbers to vote.
“We cannot allow complacency to infiltrate this movement.”
Mamdani reaffirmed his vow to address the cost-of-living crisis for New Yorkers, saying he would work to freeze rent for low-income residents and build more affordable housing.
His pledges also included hiring thousands of new teachers and a universal childcare program.
“The socialists want to take over the Democratic Party. That’s what Bernie Sanders is all about. That’s what AOC is all about,” Cuomo said.
Still, Cuomo, who has recently received support from the city’s wealthy figures, trails behind Mamdani in nearly all polls, as he faces the uncomfortable task of defending sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation in 2021.
Faced with criticism from Mamdani over his past sexual conduct, Cuomo has denied the allegations.
APP/ift