Early voting begins in New York mayoral race

Polling places opened on Saturday for the start of in-person voting for two of the year's most closely watched elections: the New York City mayor's race and the contest to pick New Jersey's next governor.

New Yorkers are choosing between Democrat Zohran Mamdani, Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat on the ballot as an independent. The incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, is also on the ballot but dropped out of the race last month and recently threw his support behind Cuomo.

The New Jersey governor's race features Republican state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli against Democratic US Rep Mikie Sherrill. New York has allowed early voting since 2019, and it has become relatively popular. In June's mayoral primary, about 35 per cent of the ballots were cast early and in person, according to the city's campaign finance board.