Early voting begins today for mayor and other NYC primary races: Here’s what to know

Early voting in the Big Apple kicked off Saturday morning ahead of the June 24 primary election, with candidates vying to become NYC’s next mayor at each other’s throats as New Yorkers began deciding whether the city will take an even more drastic shift leftward.

Nearly all of the 11 Democratic candidates running for mayor of the liberal metropolis have been tripping over themselves on the campaign trail, trying to convince voters they’re best equipped to take on President Trump.

New York City’s 5 million registered voters can cast early votes in the mayoral primary and other races citywide by dropping by polling sites through June 22, with the polls open most days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except June 17 and June 18 (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and June 20 (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo heads the crowded mayoral field, leading in nearly every poll, but socialist Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has been narrowing the gap in recent weeks and is close behind.

The winner will be a huge favorite heading into November’s general election, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans six to one in NYC.

Cuomo, following a rally at Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network headquarters in Harlem, continued to try and drive home a point he’s made throughout the campaign — that he’s best suited to take on President Trump — while labeling Mamdani as a do-little legislator in over his head.

“You have to know how to make government work, and if you have no experience whatsoever in making government work, if you have never really had a job, you are a two-time assembly person who has passed three bills — most assembly people pass three bills by mistake,” Cuomo said.

“You have missed half the [legislative] session; you’ve missed more days at work in two weeks than I missed in 11 years [as governor]. You’ve never dealt with the City Council; you’ve never dealt with the Congress; you’ve never dealt with Donald Trump, but now you’re going to run New York City?”

Across town, Mamdani joined comptroller and fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander and about 200 other far lefties at a rally in Midtown’s Bryant Park to condemn Cuomo’s candidacy.

Supporters held posters with Cuomo’s images and slogans saying “No Kings No Cuomo No ICE,” “Predator,” and Creepy Cuomo,” referring to sexual harassment allegations the ex-governor has repeatedly denied.

“One of the many things that unites Brad and I is we stand in firm opposition to Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani told the crowd.

“One of the reasons New Yorkers take to the streets is when they feel that their voices are not heard by their leaders. If you have leaders like [Mayor] Eric Adams, if you have leaders like Andrew Cuomo or leaders like Donald Trump, you are made to feel as if you are invisible.”

Lander briefly drew some unwanted chuckles by accidently dubbing Cuomo “mayor” while ripping the ex-governor for conveniently failing to recall at Thursday’s mayoral debate the last time he visited a mosque.

“To have a mayor who, I mean mayoral candidate, who lied about, you know, can’t even remember the last time he was ever in” a mosque,” Lander slipped.

Voters who flocked to an early voting site at the University Settlement Campos Plaza Community Center in the East Village were split on who they wanted to see become the city’s next mayor.

“Cuomo!” declared Charles Sturckun, a 74-year-old attorney. “He has managerial experience. You need somebody to stand up to Washington. I go for experience.”

But Sarah Schulman, a 66-year-old professor, said she’s backing Mamdani.

“I think he’s fantastic. He will keep ICE out of our city. I also like his free transportation plan and extending rent control.”

Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic consultant, said a Mamdani win would swing the city “all the way to the left” to become the People’s Republic of New York.

With Mandani in charge, the NYPD would likely be gutted, social-services spending would skyrocket, and City Hall would be locked in a futile battle with Albany and Washington to secure funds for the socialist’s pie-in-the-sky campaign platforms like free buses and city-run grocery stores, warned Sheinkopf.

“It would be the beginning of the permanent revolution,” said Sheinkopf, adding that Mamdani’s chances of winning hinge on whether his strong base of younger New Yorkers comes out and votes.

Cuomo would be all but a shoo-in to capture the Democratic line if it weren’t for the rank-choice voting system implemented in 2021 for primary races for NYC posts.

Voters can select up to five candidates per race, and in the order they choose.

If no candidate tops 50% of “first-choice” votes, the candidate with the smallest number of votes is knocked out of the race. Then, that candidate’s second-choice votes get spread across the remaining candidates.

The last-place finisher in this round gets eliminated. The process repeats itself until two candidates remain, and the person with the most votes wins.

The Working Families Party – which caters to socialists and the Democrats’ far left majority – is actively using rank-choice voting to thwart Cuomo’s candidacy.

The WFP endorsed Mamdani as its top choice in the mayoral race but is also calling on voters to select  Lander second, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams third, and Brooklyn Sen. Zellnor Myrie fourth. The party is also urging voters to leave Cuomo off their ballots.

Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat not related to the speaker, is skipping the primary and running as an independent in November’s general election, as is lawyer and former federal prosecutor Jim Walden.

During an appearance on WABC-AM on Friday, the mayor blamed some of the Democrats running to unseat him for “creat[ing] many of the problems that New Yorkers are facing.”

“The issues that we have to fix came from those who were in Albany, like the governor, the assemblyman, the two state senators [Zelnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos],” he said. “They did the bail reform that we had to fix. They passed the cannabis law that made cannabis shops pop up all over the city.”

There’s no Republican mayoral primary, but Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa is the presumptive nominee after securing endorsements from party leaders in all five boroughs.

Besides the mayor, also on the line are party nominations for the citywide offices of comptroller and public advocate, the City Council’s 51 seats, the borough president and district attorney posts in each of the five boroughs, and lower-level state and city posts.

With Lander running for mayor, Brooklyn Councilman Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine head a slate of four candidates vying to capture the Democratic nomination to replace Lander. Two long-shot political newcomers – Peter Kefalas and Daniel Maio — are vying for the Republican line.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is seeking re-election and will be opposed in the Democratic primary by Queens Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and Wall Street investor Marty Dolan. Gonzalo Duran, a former U.S. Marine, has already locked up the Republican line. 

East Village voters said they weren’t willing to back disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner’s political comeback bid.

“Oh no! I have a daughter,” said Aokeeyba Taylor, a 51-year-old building superintendent who voted for Sarah Batchu, a former aide for ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio, in the local City Council race over Weiner and three other candidates.

“You’re sexting a 15-year-old girl pictures of yourself?” added Taylor, referring to Weiner being sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2017 for sexting a minor.

Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts and Samantha Olander.