Here's What NYC Early Voting Numbers Show

By Kennedy Sessions and Nancy Jiang, The City

June 22, 2026, 11:42 a.m.

New voters failed to show up at the polls during early voting for New York City’s June primary election amid overall low turnout. Only 172,684 New Yorkers cast ballots in the nine-day early voting period that ended Sunday.

Of that number, only 11,573 ballots were cast by new — and generally younger — voters, New Yorkers who registered after the 2024 general election. That’s 6.7% of the early voting total, while Boomers and Millennials turned in comparatively higher numbers, according to an analysis by The City Reporter.

Early voting peaked on Sunday, June 21, with a high of 35,843 ballots cast across the city. Board of Elections data show 22,857 voters cast their ballots on Friday, June 19, and 21,658 ballots were cast on June 20 — the highest turnout stretch since early voting began on June 13. The lowest recorded day was Monday, June 15, following the weekend of the Knicks NBA Championship win, with 12,655 New Yorkers voting.

Election Day is Tuesday, when New Yorkers can vote in person in federal and state primaries. (Residents in City Council District 3, comprising Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and other Manhattan neighborhoods, will also vote in a Council primary.)

No Mamdani Surge

Early voting for last year’s mayoral primary attracted 735,317 New Yorkers, or nearly 14% of registered voters. Without a single marquee race to drive turnout like the bitter Democratic contest between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, this year’s primary saw a 76.5% drop in participation from 2025.

This year’s early voting numbers are still double the roughly 80,000 votes cast in the last mid-term primary, in 2022. (New York has closed partisan primaries that are limited to registered members of political parties, often leaving Republicans with few options.)

Voters in Manhattan and Brooklyn — home to the most competitive Congressional primaries — voted in droves compared with the rest of the city, with 67,355 casting ballots in Manhattan, accounting for 39% of the overall early voting turnout, and 54,236 early voters in Brooklyn, or 31%. Meanwhile, 33,138 voters cast their ballots in Queens, making up 19% of early voters.

Low Youth Turnout

Low early voting turnout among younger voters has spooked the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is backing candidates in high-profile congressional primaries in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Politico New York reported on Monday. DSA held an “emergency meeting” last Wednesday to address the comparatively lackluster numbers.

Newly registered voters — those who first registered after the Nov. 2024 presidential election and ahead of the 2025 mayoral election — did not flood the polls as they did in 2025. Of the newly registered voters, 25-34-year-olds were the largest group to cast their ballots early. Roughly 6.7% of new voters participated in early voting, a mere 11,573 out of 172,684.

In terms of age groups, Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, made up 38% of the overall voters, or 64,835, according to BOE data, making the generation with the highest early voter turnout.

Meanwhile, Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, were the second-highest generation to vote early, with their highest voting day on Sunday. Overall, more than 43,000 cast their ballots in the early voting period and made up 25% overall.

Where the Action Is

The 12th Congressional District, on Manhattan Upper East and Upper West sides, where five candidates are battling to replace the retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, saw the highest early turnout among all of the city’s Democratic primaries, with 38,340 voters casting their ballots as of Sunday.

The crowded race includes State Assemblymembers Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, Kennedy scion and influencer Jack Schlossberg, former Republican George Conway, and public health expert Nina Schwalbe.

In the 10th Congressional District, in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, where former City Comptroller Brad Lander is trying to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman, 27,466 people voted early.

Meanwhile, in NY’s 13th Congressional District, covering Upper Manhattan and the western Bronx, 21,216 voters cast their ballots early in a marquee race that has Rep. Adriano Espaillat battling a challenge from DSA-backed Darializa Avila Chevalier.

In the 7th Congressional District, 19,582 people voted early in the race between Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Assem. Claire Valdez to succeed Rep. Nydia Velázquez.

In state Senate Democratic primaries, the 27th district in Lower Manhattan, where former Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou is competing against Assemblymember Grace Lee to represent parts of the Financial District, Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, and Chinatown, saw the highest early turnout, with 8,762 voters.

The 25th state Senate district in Brooklyn, where incumbent Jabari Brisport is facing a challenge from Marlon Rice, had the second-highest turnout, with 8,127 early voters. Third was the 12th senatorial district, where DSA-endorsed Aber Kawas is running against progressive Assemblymember Steven Raga, with 6,350 early voters.

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.