New York City Has Already Smashed Turnout Records Several Hours Before Polls Close

New York City blew past its last mayoral turnout benchmark Tuesday afternoon, with 1.19 million voters already checked in hours before polls close at 9 p.m., topping the 1.15 million total from 2021.

Board of Elections figures cited by the New York Post showed the record-breaking pace by early afternoon, while official BOE data put early voting alone at 735,317 — already a modern high heading into Election Day. Polls are open citywide from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday. (RELATED: Democrats’ New Theory Of Politics Faces First Stress Test)

“If you are in line by 9 PM, you can stay in line to cast a ballot,” the city’s official website says.

When we launched this campaign, we said we wanted to knock on one million doors across the five boroughs by the June primary.

Some people laughed. You got to work. We hit 1.6 million.

In the general, we said let’s do it again. Another million.

We just passed three. pic.twitter.com/DCcIMhOX8Z

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) November 4, 2025

The surge follows a nine-day early voting period that eclipsed 2021 by a wide margin, according to the BOE and local outlets tracking daily check-ins. NBC New York reported 735,317 early ballots through Sunday night; the Board also published daily borough check-ins throughout the period.

NEW YORK, I’M LEAVING YOU WITH THIS TODAY:

If I could accomplish all of these things as your governor, imagine what I could do as your mayor.

Get all of your friends who haven’t voted yet and hit the polls, because this election, more than any in the past, EVERY VOTE IS GOING… pic.twitter.com/83M381aWMx

— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) November 4, 2025

By midday Tuesday, borough totals driving the record included more than 395,000 voters in Brooklyn and 328,000 in Manhattan, with Queens at 276,000, the Bronx at 111,000 and Staten Island at 82,000, the Post reported, citing BOE figures.

The dramatic nature of the election cycle has matched the turnout. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo lost the June 24 Democratic primary to state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani under the city’s ranked-choice system, then jumped back in as an independent for November. Mamdani, a Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate, has leaned into that label throughout the race.

On the right, Republicans and moderates have wrestled over whether nominee Curtis Sliwa should bow out to consolidate anti-Mamdani votes behind Cuomo.

Polls and prediction markets suggest Mamdani is the overwhelming favorite in the mayoral election.