Voter Analysis in NYC
Every year, the NYC Campaign Finance Board dives into voter data to understand which New Yorkers turned out, who stayed home, and what we can learn to make future elections work better for everyone. Here are a few highlights from 2024's report.
Young Voters Face Barriers To Participation
- NYC has more work to do to make sure young people cast their ballots. Turnout among voters under 30 remained low in 2024, with only 3.7% voting in April, 5.0% in June, and 57.1% in November. Barriers to youth participation include New York's closed primary system (which excludes unaffiliated voters), limited civic education, and low levels of pre-registration. Pre-registration allows 16- and 17-year-olds to ensure they're ready to vote once they turn 18.
- Research from our Youth Ambassadors highlighted these issues and called for more youth voter engagement and outreach. Our NYC Votes Youth Ambassadors learned about the voting process, the history of democracy in New York City, how to get involved in local government and politics, and how to educate and engage young voters.
A Youth Ambassador registering voters
One in Five Voters Were Left Out
- Voters not belonging to a political party were largely shut out in 2024. Unaffiliated voters tend to be younger, with nearly half under 40, and they generally have lower turnout rates than party-enrolled peers. Unaffiliated voters make up 21.1% of registered voters in NYC. Because New York has a closed primary system, in which only Democrats can vote in Democratic primaries and only Republicans can vote in Republican primaries, one in five NYC voters were unable to cast a ballot in primary elections.
Percent of registered unaffilliated voters by Election District
Distribution of voters by political party group, by age
Turnout by political party in the General Election from 2020-2024
Too Many Elections Leads To Voter Fatigue
- New Yorkers know a thing or two about voting fatigue. In just the first 4 months of 2025, there have already been 3 Special Elections and voters haven't even hit the polls for the mayoral primary yet. To reduce voter fatigue and improve turnout, New York should consolidate election dates whenever possible. Voter fatigue is exacerbated by frequent elections, and aligning election dates could decrease voter fatigue, which in turn could lead to a more representative electorate. Fewer elections would likely lead to higher voter turnout.
Protest Ballots Sent a Message
- Voters made their voice heard by staying silent. A notable increase in blank ballots occurred in the Democratic presidential primary, with 14.8% of ballots unrecorded. This surge was linked to a nationwide organized protest campaign fueled by anger over President Biden's handling of the Gaza conflict, marking a sharp rise in blank ballots compared to 1.1% in 2016 and 4.2% in 2020. NYC’s five boroughs saw varying rates of blank ballots cast. See how we engaged voters on this topic in 2024 with this Instagram video with more than 22k views.
Maps that explain turnout in 2024
Curious how your neighborhood turned out in 2024? Dig into these voter maps.
Voter turnout in 2024 April primary
- Both the April and June primary elections saw low turnout across the city. These two maps illustrate turnout in both elections.
What's Next?
The 2024 Voter Analysis Report offers a clear call to action to make elections work for everyone. To build a stronger, more inclusive democracy in NYC, we must better engage young and unaffiliated voters, reduce election overload, and modernize how we manage voter registration. To learn more about how the CFB suggests addressing these problems, our analysis of voting trends, and detailed demographics about the past year's elections, read the full report!
