Nearly 300,000 New Yorkers cast ballots in the first four days of early voting – a nearly 72% increase since the last midterm election, according to city Board of Elections data.
Some 294,604 city residents had already voted between Saturday and Wednesday, ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3, the data showed.
That’s just over 3,000 people shy of the record turnout in last year’s mayoral election and over 120,000 more votes than at the same point in 2022, the last time there was a gubernatorial election at the top of the ballot.
The Bronx is leading some of the surge.
Unofficial records show that the boogie down logged more 30,000 early votes through Tuesday, nearly doubling its turnout from the same point in 2022, when 16,000 early votes had been cast. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul was facing a challenge from Republican Lee Zeldin in that election.
There were nearly 25,000 Bronx early votes at this point in last year’s mayoral election, which saw eventual winner and Democratic Party nominee Zohran Mamdani facing ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Staten Island and Queens have also seen modest upticks with around 2,000 more New Yorkers participating in the program so far compared to the same point in last year’s mayoral election.
Manhattan and Brooklyn logged around 82,000 votes and 86,000 over the first four days of early voting, according to the figures.
In 2025, Manhattan had over 89,000 voters at the point while Brooklyn had over 92,000 voters.
The high early voting turnout likely means an advantage for Democratic candidates in deeply blue New York City.
Statewide there are about 6 million registered Democrats, 3.4 million voters not affiliated with a party and only 2.8 million registered Republicans, according to the state Board of Elections’ active enrollment logs.
In this year’s election, Hochul is facing a challenge from GOP candidate Bruce Blakeman while Democratic Attorney General Letitia James is running against Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy.
Hochul is maintaining a 14-point lead against Blakeman while AG James is holding a 15-point lead against Komatireddy, according to the latest Siena University poll.
A recent Marist poll found that Hochul’s lead was only by 11 points and showed Blakeman leading with independent voters.
Early voting will continue through this Sunday while polls will be open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 3.
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