New York City’s June 2025 Democratic mayoral primary saw turnout surge to its highest level in decades, with over one million ballots cast, including 380,000 early votes, more than double the early vote total from 2021. Ranked-choice voting played a decisive role in the 2025 primary outcome, but also revealed ongoing challenges in voter education.
Nearly 28% of all ballots cast had only one candidate ranked, meaning a significant portion of voters did not take full advantage of the system’s strategic potential. The 2025 primary election draws comparisons to another era, the 1989 mayoral primary that David Dinkins won to become New York City’s first Black mayor.
In 1989, the turnout was 1.1 million, with Dinkins defeating incumbent Mayor Ed Koch 547,900 to 456,300. In 2025, Zohran Mamdani eclipsed Dinkin’s pre-RCV record in three rounds of ranked choice voting, marking the largest vote total in Democratic mayoral primary history.