This article is adapted from our March 27 edition of RANKED CHOICES, THE CITY’s weekly election newsletter. Click here to sign up.
Dear New Yorkers,
It’s not unfair to describe New York City’s voter turnout as abysmal. We rank second-to-last among other big cities for getting to the polls.
So, among a sea of nonvoters, who’s actually casting ballots, and where? We got a great reader question wondering just this.
To answer, I and my colleague Mia Hollie went through a trove of data provided by the Campaign Finance Board’s NYC Votes initiative and spoke to people who could probably predict which neighborhoods will see the most ballots cast.
One chunk of the city with reliably active voters is the west side of Manhattan, the Upper West Side in particular. Some neighborhoods in Brooklyn, including Park Slope and Fort Greene, also came out in big numbers for the last mayoral primary election, data shows.
Age is also a big factor. In the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, for instance, the average voting age was 54, although the average registered voter age was 49, according to the CFB.
Certain candidates could shift this for our upcoming primary, with younger aspirants like State Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani — who’s very online persona could drive more younger voters to the polls.
Read more about those voting trends in our story here, and let me know if you have any thoughts about improving the city’s consistently-low turnout! Questions and comments welcome at ask@thecity.nyc.
One other important thing to know about: President Donald Trump this week signed an executive order that looks to drastically change the county’s elections, including requiring proof of citizenship for federal elections and that all ballots be received by Election Day. Patch wrote about what this means for New York; legal challenges are sure to come.
— Katie Honan and THE CITY’s election team
What We’re Reading …
Instead of using her constitutional power to remove Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul opted for proposing some legal guard rails for him. But the legislature isn’t having it, and those bills have gone nowhere, Politico reported.A new poll has Andrew Cuomo in the lead, again, with more female voters surveyed supporting him than men. Number two in the race? Asm. Zohran Mamdani. (Grain of salt: A ton of voters are still undecided.)In case you missed it, here’s our interview with Democratic mayoral candidate State Senator Jessica Ramos. Our FAQ podcast crew is interviewing all of the Dems. Next week: Comptroller Brad Lander.
What’s Ahead …
Days until the June primary: 89
March 29: Student-led mayoral town hall, 1 to 3 p.m. at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W. 64th St. in Manhattan. RSVP here.
March 31: Mayoral forum on climate justice hosted by Climate Works for All and moderated by THE CITY’s Samantha Maldonado. 6:30 p.m. at the CUNY Law School, 2 Court Square West, Queens. RSVP here; seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
April 1: The deadline for a budget from Albany. Here’s a guide on that.
April 7: Public safety-focused mayoral forum co-hosted by Vital City and the CUNY Journalism School with THE CITY’s Reuven Blau. Roosevelt House at Hunter College, 9 to 11 a.m.
April 15: First day of independent petitioning for candidates not running with a party. If you see mayoral candidates gathering signatures for an independent run — especially Eric Adams! — let us know: ask@thecity.nyc.
Your Election Questions, Answered
❓Reader Gail R. asked: I’ll be out of the country for a few months leading up to and including the June primary. Does the city mail absentee ballots outside the country?
Answer: Yes, they do! To get an absentee ballot, fill out this application from the city Board of Elections and choose the option “Mail ballot to me at a different (mailing) address outside the U.S.” Bear in mind: The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is June 14. And it may take time to process and mail, so start early.
THE CAMPAIGN KICKER: Overhead outside the Barclays Center last week from a signature-gatherer from Cuomo, carrying a small stack of petition forms: “It’s harder than it looks.”
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The post Meet the Most (and Least) Reliable Voters in NYC appeared first on THE CITY – NYC News.
