Early voting in New York City begins Saturday, with less than two weeks before the June 22 primary for mayor and other races.
New York’s state legislature voted to allow early voting in 2019, giving people the chance to cast their ballots before primary and general election days.
This year is the first in the city to feature ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank up to five candidates by preference. And it is one of the most crowded elections in the city’s history, with 13 Democratic and 2 Republican candidates vying to be the next mayor. The comptroller’s race has 12 candidates.
Every borough president seat is on the ballot, as well as candidates to be the next public advocate. Nearly 300 people are running for dozens of open seats on the New York City Council. In Manhattan, voters will select their next district attorney, although that race isn’t ranked-choice.
In Brooklyn, there are 32 early-voting sites, 22 in the Bronx, 21 in Manhattan, 19 in Queens and 10 on Staten Island, according to the Board of Elections. Voters can also drop off completed absentee ballots at early-voting locations.
On Thursday, five of the leading Democratic mayoral candidates debated in the last matchup before early voting began. Another debate will be held on June 16.