(The Center Square) — New York City voters turned out in record numbers for the first two days of early voting in the city’s mayoral election, as the top candidates continued to press their case to undecided voters.
More than 164,000 ballots were cast on Saturday and Sunday — five times higher than early voting ahead of the 2021 mayoral elections when Eric Adams, then the Democratic nominee, was favored to win, according to the city Board of Elections.
The record turnout comes as Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa make their final appeals to voters ahead of Election Day on Nov. 4.
Mamdani, who has a double-digit lead in the polls, held a rally at Forest Hills Stadium on Sunday night, featuring progressive darlings Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who faced jeers from the left-wing crowd. He touted his signature proposals to tax the wealthy to make public colleges tuition-free, end fares for bus service and provide universal child care.
“While Donald Trump’s donor billionaires think they have the money to buy this election, we have a movement of the masses,” Mamdani told supporters. “No longer will we allow the Republican Party to be the one of ambition. No longer will we have to open a history book to read about Democrats leading with big ideas.”
Cuomo, a Democrat who is running as an independent candidate, held a rally at Queens Public Library Sunday after touting an endorsement from New York Daily News. He invoked his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, and called Mamdani a “divisive force” whose comments have offended the Jewish community.
“He is not a Democrat, he is a socialist. He is a divider. He is a zealot. He is an extremist. He is a radical,” Cuomo said at the rally. “This is a vote to save New York City.”
Sliwa made several campaign stops across the city over the weekend, where he criticized his rivals, Cuomo and Mamdani, and again rejected calls for him to drop out of the mayoral race.
“Today is a clear example that the billionaires, the insiders and the influencers are not determining who will be the next mayor of New York City,” Sliwa said Saturday. “Get out there and vote to save our city. We the people will never be silenced. This is our moment.”
The mayoral race in New York City has drawn national interest, with the outcome of the contentious race for City Hall expected to herald major changes to the political direction of the nation’s largest city.
At Sunday’s Mandani rally, Sanders told the crowd of supporters that Republican President Donald Trump and “the rest of the world” were watching the election.
“A victory here in New York will give hope and inspiration to people throughout our country and throughout the world,” the Vermont democratic socialist said in his remarks. “That is what this election is about, and that is why Donald Trump is paying attention to this election.”
