New York City voters set a new record for early voting on the first day

Voters in New York flocked to the polls in record numbers on the first day of early voting on Saturday.

A total of 140,145 voters registered at early voting locations to cast their ballots in a presidential contest that remains on a cutting edge nationally even though Vice President Kamala Harris owns a lead commander over former President Donald Trump in New York, according to recent polls. It marks the largest turnout on the first day of early voting since the policy took effect five years ago, and surpasses 2020’s first day turnout by nearly 50,000 voters.

New York City Board of Elections announced Record turnout on social media platform X just one hour after the polls closed for the day at 5pm

Brooklyn reigned supreme with 40,289 voters, followed by 38,237 in Manhattan, 31,671 in Queens, 16,462 in the Bronx and 13,486 in Staten Island.

Gothamist visited one of the busiest early voting sites in southeast Queens, at the Rochdale Village Community Center, where the wait time map on the New York Board of Elections website indicated voters waited up to 50 of minutes to cast their vote, to find out what it was. motivating voters to come out on the first day of voting in person.

“I always try to vote early and it doesn’t matter what the election is. I know a lot of people sacrifice for our privilege to vote,” said Mike Shannon of Laurelton. The 65-year-old retired police lieutenant, who currently works as an elementary school teacher, said voting is one way he honors his father’s military service.

Shannon said she voted for Harris because she thought she was more qualified. “I gave Donald Trump a chance,” Shannon said, adding, “some felons can’t vote and (are) running for the highest office in the land, so I don’t really like it.”

(There are currently 10 states in the nation where a person convicted of certain crimes loses their right to vote indefinitely, according to data compiled by National Conference of State Legislatures. In New York, a person who has been convicted of a felony loses their right to vote only while in prison serving time for a felony conviction.)

Kersana Ward, a 36-year-old social worker from Rosedale, said she voted to protect women’s health, which is why she supports Harris.

“She’s not just an educated woman, she’s a woman for the people,” Ward said.

In what may be a harbinger of trouble for the fate of ballot initiatives – including proposition 1which supporters say would enshrine access to abortion in the state constitution – Ward said he didn’t vote on the back-ballot initiatives because he didn’t have enough information about them.

Tricia Haynes, a 50-year-old educator from Springfield Gardens, and her son Trison, 33, went to the polls together on Saturday. Neither wanted to name who they voted for, but insisted their votes didn’t cancel each other out, despite giving very different reasons for how they made their decisions.

Trison said he was motivated by foreign affairs, citing the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. “And there may be new conflicts abroad,” he added.

“It’s basically Project 2025,” Haynes said, referring to the Heritage Foundation’s controversial treaty that has been considered a blueprint for a second Trump administration. She also mentioned women’s rights and the ability to freely access abortion and reproductive health care. “I have a 16-year-old daughter and I think it’s very important for her to be able to make her own choice,” Haynes said.

Women of all ages mentioned the need to protect women’s bodily autonomy.

“I never said you can’t have a vasectomy,” said Alpine James, a retired member of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal workers’ union. “Why are you meddling in my business?”

The 78-year-old said that of all the elections she has seen, this one most reminds her of 2016, when Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “It was a bit heartbreaking,” she said. If Trump wins again, she said, it will be “a dictatorship.”

Despite her strong feelings, James did not vote Saturday. He arrived too late and the polling station doors were already closed.

“I’ll be here at 7,” James said, “and if I have to, I’ll bring my chair and sit there and wait.”

The polling stations reopen on Sunday at 8:00 am. Find the early voting or polling site on Election Day in New York City here. Note that early voting locations in New York are open on weekends from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and on weekdays from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.