Editorial | Is the strong NYC early voting turnout, at last, an end to voter apathy?

A woman casts her ballot during early voting in Brooklyn on Oct. 25, 2025.

Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

The incredible turnout in early voting across New York City thus far has been one of the most encouraging developments of the year. 

Democracy is alive and well in the Big Apple. More than 300,000 people have already cast their ballots in the 2025 general election, voting for the next mayor of New York City. That number is exponentially larger than the abysmal early voting turnout in the 2021 mayoral election, when less than 100,000 people went to the polls during the nine-day period. 

Why the surge in turnout? Who are the voters voting for? At this point, we can only speculate based on polls and data. The final answers won’t be known until after 9 p.m. Tuesday night, Nov. 4, after the polls have closed and the army of Board of Elections workers begins counting every vote.

Still, the apparent enthusiasm of the New York City voter this election cycle — who, in recent years, has been known to largely hibernate in between presidential and midterm elections every two years — should make all of us feel proud. 

We have often written in this space about voter apathy in past city elections in the Big Apple. The 2021 race saw a turnout of just over 23% of registered voters; in a city of 8 million, just 1.14 million of them bothered to decide who would be their next mayor. The election before that, in 2017, saw 25% of the electorate participate. Four years earlier, in 2013, it was just 23.5%. 

In fact, the last time more than 30% of New York City’s registered voters elected a mayor was 20 years ago, in 2005, when Mike Bloomberg was re-elected and a third of the voters showed up at the polls. Four years earlier, Bloomberg was first elected mayor in a contest that saw voter turnout exceed 40%.

The last time turnout exceeded 50% in the mayor’s race was 32 years ago, in the epic 1993 election that saw Rudy Giuliani unseat Mayor David Dinkins.

To put it mildly, it’s been far too long since New Yorkers cared about who runs their city the next four years. It is nice to see the voter apathy starting to end in an election where three dynamic candidates have captivated the city’s attention.

There are still four more days to early vote, then Election Day itself. We encourage all of you who haven’t yet cast your ballot in this race to carefully examine the choices before you, then make your decision known and your voice heard.

And remember that your civic duty doesn’t just end with this year’s election. Every year brings new elections and new opportunities to shape the future, either by staying the course or charting a new direction. That only happens with your say as a voter.

Stay involved, stay engaged, and vote every chance you get. Never take your vote for granted.