Polling stations opened at 6 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) and will close at 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday). Early voting, held from Oct. 25 to Nov. 2, saw more than 735,000 ballots cast — a record turnout, according to the New York City Board of Elections, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
At the heart of the race is Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, 34, who was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian parents and raised in New York from the age of seven. If elected, Mamdani would become New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor.
A self-described democratic socialist, Mamdani has built his campaign around affordability and social welfare, proposing free buses, universal childcare, city-run grocery stores, rent-stabilized housing, and a plan to raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030, up from the current $16.50.
He says his ambitious agenda would be funded through a corporate tax hike to 11.5%—matching neighboring New Jersey—and a 2% income tax on individuals earning over $1 million annually.
Mamdani has also drawn attention with his foreign policy stance, pledging to order the NYPD to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the city, citing the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
His main rivals are former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an Independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, a conservative activist and radio host.
Cuomo has sought to leverage his decades of public service and his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic to appeal to centrist voters, while Sliwa continues to court the city’s right-leaning base.
According to an aggregate of polls by Real Clear Politics, Mamdani holds a commanding 14.3-point lead, with 46.1% support compared to Cuomo’s 31.8%. Sliwa trails at 16.3%, and it remains unclear whether his supporters would rally behind Cuomo in a late bid to close the gap.
