NYC Primary Election Is Almost Here: A Guide For Voters

NEW YORK CITY — With the dust barely settled on last year's contentious presidential election, New Yorkers face another consequential electoral contest.

The June 22 primary is the first — and, perhaps, most decisive — chance voters will have to pick a mayor other than Bill de Blasio in years.

Eight top-tier Democratic candidates and two Republicans are vying on their respective mayoral primary ballots.

Given the city's recent shift toward an overwhelmingly Democratic metropolis, it appears likely that party's nominee is a heavy favorite, if not a shoo-in, to be the next mayor.

"We will always respect the will of the people and anything can happen in this world, but I am 100 percent certain that a Democrat will win," de Blasio said recently. "We have a very strong field of candidates."

But there's a new wrinkle this year — ranked-choice voting — that could shake up the crowded Democratic field.

Here's a guide to voting this primary.

Wait, am I registered?

No registration, no vote.

You can check your voter registration here.

New Yorkers who previously registered to vote are permanently registered unless they moved outside the city or county of registration. Inactive voters who haven't voted in any election, including two consecutive federal elections, and haven't confirmed their addresses during that time are no longer registered.

If you're not currently registered, sorry but you're out of luck — registration for the primary ended May 28.

Oh, there's also a catch — only voters who have registered with the Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families party affiliations can nominate those parties' candidates in the primary. The deadline to switch parties was Feb. 14.

OK, I'm registered and have a party affiliation. When can I vote?

June 22 is the official primary election day. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can find your poll site here.

But voters who want to cast their ballots beforehand can do so between during the early voting period that ends Sunday.

Early voters can find their poll site here.

Voters can also request an absentee ballot online or by mail, so long as they do so by June 15. They can apply here. (People can also request absentee ballots in person at elections offices by June 21.)

Absentee ballots must be postmarked by June 22.

I'm voting. What's this ranked-choice business?

Simply put, voters can rank up to five candidates in order of their preference.

Voters can still only choose one candidate if they prefer — under the ranked-choice system voters can rank as many or as few candidates as they want.

The main catch is voters can't rank the same candidate more than once.

When votes are counted, the candidate with more than 50 percent of first rank votes automatically wins. But if there's not such a candidate, then counting will continue in rounds that eliminate candidates with the fewest votes. When there's just two candidates remaining, the one with the most votes wins.

Will ranked-choice actually make a difference?

Most likely.

There are eight Democratic candidates — Eric Adams, Shaun Donovan, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire, Dianne Morales, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang — considered top-tier.

None of those candidates appears likely to get 50 percent of the primary vote outright, so voters' second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-choice picks could make a big difference.

Click here for a sample ballot.

More information can be found at the NYC Board of Elections website.