NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — Voters in New York City are heading to the polls Tuesday to select Democratic and Republican nominees for mayor, following a campaign dominated by debate over public safety as the city recovers from the pandemic and confronts a rise in shootings.
The winner of the crowded Democratic contest, who may not be known until mid-July, will be a heavy favorite to succeed term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio in November’s general election. Democratic registered voters outnumber Republican voters by more than a six-to-one ratio, state data shows.
The election will be the first mayoral primary to use ranked-choice voting. City voters approved a measure to use the ranked-choice system two years ago.
It’s a system in which voters rank up to five candidates in order of preference and the lowest performers are eliminated in a series of computerized rounds of vote tallying until only two candidates remain. The one with more votes wins.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former police officer and founder of a law enforcement reform group, has seen his standing rise amid concern over a spike in shootings during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest survey from NewsNation and Emerson College.
The poll found Adams had the most support out of the 11 other candidates polled with 18% support.
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who led the March NewsNation/Emerson poll, saw his support fall from 32% to 15%. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer had the largest jump in support since March, going from 6% to 15%. 23% of voters reported being undecided at the time of the May poll. Other notable candidates include former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia and former de Blasio administration attorney Maya Wiley.
Early voting started June 12 in the primary to replace the term-limited Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The next mayor will be confronted with deep challenges including wealth inequality, police accountability, a lack of affordable housing and a struggling tourism industry in the country’s most populous city of about 8.2 million residents.
The polls are set to close at 9 p.m. local time Tuesday. Preliminary results showing voters’ first-choice votes are expected sometime after that, but barring a surprise outcome in which one candidates exceeds 50% of first-choice votes, the final results will likely take weeks.
Preliminary results showing voters’ first-choice votes are expected sometime after that, but barring a surprise outcome in which one candidates exceeds 50% of first-choice votes, the final results will likely take weeks.
Also in the city, several Democrats are running to succeed Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been leading a probe of former President Donald Trump’s business dealings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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