Nearly 17,000 New Yorkers Cast Their Mayoral Votes in Early Voting

   by Yehudit Garmaise

     Nearly 17,000 New Yorkers cast their votes yesterday at the city’s 104 polling sites since early voting started yesterday, the Board of Election (BOE) reported.

     The number is significantly less than the 93,800 New Yorkers who came out to vote on the first day of early voting in November 2020 for the presidential election.

     The lower voter turnout for city elections was the reason for this year's switch to the ranked-choice system, which will help determine a winner, who needs at least 50% of the vote, without an additional and costly run-off election.

     New Yorkers have until June 20 to cast their votes early. The last day for New Yorkers to request absentee ballots, is Tuesday, June 15, and June 22 is the last day to postmark or deliver primary ballots in person.

     New Yorkers who might have requested absentee ballots, but then would prefer to vote in person, may do so during early voting or on Primary Day on June 22.

     In addition to ranking their choices of their top five preferences for mayor, New Yorkers are voting for city council members, borough presidents, public advocate, and comptroller.

     New Yorkers can determine where to vote by entering their addresses into the city's BOE website, which provides the closest polling places and their wait times, which the board hoped to shorten by adding 16 new voting sites to the 88 that were offered during the 2020 presidential election.

     The hours of early voting vary by day and are as follows: Monday, June 14: 7am to 4pm, Tuesday, June 15: 10am to 8pm, Wednesday, June 16: 10am to 8pm, Thursday, June 17, 10am to 8pm, Friday, June 18: 7am to 4pm, and Sunday, June 20: 8am to 4pm.

     Mayoral candidates Kathryn Garcia and Shaun Donovan already cast their votes in Park Slope, and Andrew Yang came along with his wife, Mrs. Evelyn Yang, who voted at John Jay College in Manhattan.