Early voting underway in NYC primary election, candidates urge voters to polls
NEW YORK - Candidates in New York City's heavily contested Democratic mayoral primary on Saturday urged people to go to the polls in the coming days as early voting kicked off.
The start of early voting in the state marks the homestretch to primary election day on June 22. As some candidates voted, others spoke at a get-out-the-vote rally hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is remaining neutral in the race.
"Why on earth would you wait until the last day?" candidate Andrew Yang asked at the event. "You can vote right now. You can vote tomorrow. You can vote Monday. You can vote Tuesday. I don’t know about you all, but I would feel great having gotten it out of the way."
Voters have until June 20 to cast a vote early.
Click here to find your early voting or Election Day site, or you can call 1-866-VOTE-NYC.
Early voting sites will be open at these hours:
- Saturday, June 12 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Sunday, June 13 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Monday, June 14 from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Tuesday, June 15 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
- Wednesday, June 16 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
- Thursday, June 17 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
- Friday, June 18 from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Saturday, June 19 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Sunday, June 20 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
If you are unable to vote in person or do not wish to, you have until Tuesday, June 15 to request an absentee ballot by mail. Absentee ballots must be mailed back on or before Election Day, or they can be dropped off at any early voting poll site, any poll site on Election Day or at any NYC Board of Elections office before June 22.
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Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has topped some recent polls, but the race for the Democratic nomination remains tight. Other top contenders include 2020 presidential candidate Yang, former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia, city Comptroller Scott Stringer and civil rights attorney Maya Wiley.
This primary is especially hard to predict because the city is debuting ranked choice voting, with voters ranking up to five candidates.
Wiley told attendees at the Sharpton event that with early voting, New York is one of the few states expanding voting rights rather than curtailing them.
Democrats dominate in New York City, and the winner of the party's primary is considered highly likely to win the general election in November and succeed Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The Republican primary features Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa and Fernando Mateo, a restaurant owner and advocate for taxi drivers.