NYC Campaign Finance Board Releases Voter Analysis Report
By: Joseph T. Burns
The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) released its 2025 Voter Analysis Report, an annual examination of how New Yorkers participated in the prior year’s elections. According to the CFB report, the 2025 cycle was an historic one where New York City saw its highest general election turnout in over 50 years and new voter registrations more than doubled compared to 2021 totals. The report also includes several noteworthy policy recommendations.
The 2025 Election Cycle
The report states that the 2025 cycle opened with special elections in two of New York City’s five boroughs and ended with a mayoral race that drew national attention. Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary with over 56 percent of the final vote share after eleven rounds of ranked choice voting (RCV) tabulations. In the general election, Mamdani was elected mayor, taking 50.8 percent of the vote. The report notes that New Yorkers also elected a comptroller and a public advocate.
New Yorkers voted on ballot proposals, too. Five of the six proposals passed, including three relating to affordable housing. A proposal to align city elections with federal election years — recommended from the CFB’s 2024 Voter Analysis Report — was rejected by voters.
Voter Registration
More than 5.3 million New Yorkers were registered to vote in 2025, representing a registration rate of 94.3 percent, up nearly nine percentage points from 2024. New registrations more than doubled compared to 2021, with over 260,000 first-time registrants, a figure approaching presidential election year levels. Registrations spiked sharply ahead of eligibility deadlines, with 16,505 people registering the day before the primary election cutoff, more than five times the prior single-day record.
Voter Turnout
According to the CFB report, primary election turnout rose to 29.9 percent, up from 26.5 percent in 2021. General election turnout reached 41.6 percent (approximately 2.2 million voters), the highest recorded in a New York City election in over 50 years and nearly double the 23.3 percent figure from 2021. Every borough posted double-digit turnout gains in the general election. Manhattan led with 48.5 percent overall turnout; the Bronx recorded the lowest figure with 30.3 percent turnout.
Recommendations for Policy Changes
The CFB report also includes recommendations for changes in policy.
Most significantly, the CFB recommends that the state legislature amend the Election Law to alter New York’s party enrollment change deadline — currently set at February 14, more than four months before the June primary — to ten days before an election. New York has closed primaries, requiring voters to enroll with a party in order to participate in that party’s primary election. In its report, the CFB argues that this creates one of the most restrictive primary systems in the country and likely prevented many interested voters from participating in the 2025 primary election.
About the New York City Campaign Finance Board
The CFB was established in 1988 after voters approved an amendment to the New York City Charter. It is governed by a five-member board. Two members are appointed by the Mayor and two members are appointed by the Speaker of the City Council. The two members appointed by both the Mayor and the Speaker may not be enrolled members of the same political party. The fifth member of the board, the CFB chair, is appointed by the Mayor in consultation with the Speaker. Board members serve five-year terms. An Executive Director manages the CFB’s day-to-day operations.
The CFB administers New York City’s public matching funds program for qualifying candidates for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, and City Council. Under the program, certain small dollar contributions to participating candidates are matched with public dollars. The CFB also administers the city’s campaign finance disclosure program, requiring candidates and independent expenditure committees to publicly report contributions and expenditures.
