Early Voting Trends in New York’s Mayoral Race

Younger voters in New York are increasingly participating in early voting for the high-stakes mayoral election. Over the past few days, the share of votes cast by those under 50 has been on the rise.

This demographic, particularly favoring 34-year-old Democratic candidate Zoran Mamdani, is narrowing the gap with older voters, who have historically dominated the voting landscape. This shift could spell trouble for Andrew Cuomo, who has relied on older constituents for his campaign. Some supporters even suggested that a nearly 60% turnout among his demographic over the weekend could bolster his chances against the younger socialist challenger.

The week started strong for Cuomo, with over 62% of votes cast on Monday coming from voters aged 50 and above. However, by Wednesday, that percentage decreased to 57%, and then to 54% on Thursday.

Interestingly, young voters made significant gains during Thursday’s voting, nearly catching up to the baby boomers at 49% to 51%.

The early voting period, which lasts for nine days, wraps up this Saturday, with Election Day coming up on November 4th. Early voting numbers are already shaping up to be historic.

As of Thursday night, around 400,000 New Yorkers had shown up to vote, a figure that far surpasses the total votes from the entire early voting period during the Democratic primary. Back then, only 284,000 out of approximately 1.1 million votes were cast early.

This milestone was achieved despite a dip in voter turnout on Thursday, likely due to rainy weather, which saw only about 26,000 people heading to polling places. Remarkably, younger voters slightly outnumbered their older counterparts during this time.

Overall, voters aged 50 and older have accounted for just over 57% of the early voting turnout so far.

During the Democratic primary, Mamdani gained substantial support from younger voters, resulting in nearly an even split in votes.

Some campaign insiders remain skeptical of the recent youth turnout, suggesting that the shift might not significantly impact the overall election. One individual noted that the initial days of early voting had been dominated by older voters.

They maintained that the trends observed earlier in the week might ultimately prevail.

If early voting trends mirror those from the June primary, it could lead to a turnout exceeding 2 million voters. The last time so many people participated in a general election was way back in 1969, amid a highly competitive City Council race.