Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City, defeating independent candidate and former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday night’s race—one that was historic in more ways than one.
For starters, Mamdani made history as New York’s first-ever Muslim and South Asian mayor-elect, as well as the city’s youngest in more than a century. But this election wasn’t just about who won—it was also about the millions of New Yorkers who showed up.
According to the New York City Board of Elections, more than two million votes were cast for mayor–the most since 1969. Polls closed at 9 pm, but the record-breaking turnout had already been set hours earlier.
By early afternoon, voter participation had surpassed the 2021 mayoral race, and by nightfall, New York had seen its highest turnout in over five decades, rivaling elections held in the years after the 9/11 attacks and even the landmark 1989 race that elected David Dinkins.
More than one million people voted in person on Election Day alone, with another 850,000 casting early or mail-in ballots. At some polling sites, lines stretched around the block as voters waited in the unseasonably warm November air. Carlos Cueva, 42, a lifelong Astoria resident, told the NY Post, “This outcome is important. This election matters.”
In Brooklyn, cheers erupted at Mamdani’s victory party as he took the stage beside his wife, Rama Duwaji. He told supporters:
My friends, tonight we have toppled a political dynasty. New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change.
The last time New York City voters turned out in such overwhelming numbers was when Mayor John Lindsay was re-elected in 1969.
With more than five million registered voters in 2025, this year’s record-breaking turnout proves one thing clearly: New Yorkers still believe in the power of their vote.