There were a total of 5,613 votes counted in New York City for the first day of early voting in the primary election Saturday.

According to the city’s Board of Elections, Queens had the largest turnout with 1,689 early votes, followed by Brooklyn with 1,473, Manhattan with 1,468 and the Bronx with 983. Staten Island had no elections.

Early voting will run for nine days before Primary Election Day on June 27.

What You Need To Know

  • Saturday was the first day of early voting. Polls were open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • There will be nine early voting days in the lead up to Primary Election Day on June 27

  • Voters say early voting is convenient and easy

At one location in Harlem, voters started trickling in around 9:30 a.m.

By mid-morning, at least a dozen voters had cast their ballot.

Many said early voting is convenient and easy.

“To get it out of the way, less crowds, easier and less chance to forget to come,” said Linda Commodore.

This year, ranked-choice voting is back on the ballot.

The voting system allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. The system can become crucial in close primary races.

“I love to be able to actually have more input into the process and vote for more than one candidate in my order of preference,” Jared Watkins said about his voting experience.

There are a handful of competitive primary contests taking place around the five boroughs.

Like Council District 1, which includes the Financial District, Tribeca and the Lower East Side, incumbent Council member Christopher Marte is facing a challenge from two other competitors.

There are also district attorney races in Queens and the Bronx. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is facing two challengers while Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark is looking to hold on to her seat.

Another closely watched race is the open seat in Council District 9, which spans most of Harlem.

NY1 caught up with the candidates in that primary, which includes Assemblymember Inez Dickens, Al Taylor and Yusef Salaam.

The candidates were out greeting voters and attending events around the district.

“An educated voter is going to be my best voter because they are going to look at my track record. They’re going to look at the fact that I am accessible, I am visible and I‘m not afraid of hard work,” said Taylor at an event in Riverbank State Park.

Salaam used the day to mark his legacy of fighting for criminal justice and truth as part of the Exonerated Five.

“The next city council person is going to represent the future of what Harlem is going to look like. We need to ensure to vote in our interests. The fact that I have this great legacy behind me. I’ve always been a man of my word. That I have always stood firm. I’ve always been able to talk truth to power. We need people like that,” said Salaam while standing near the Gate of the Exonerated at Central Park.

Dickens, who was endorsed by Mayor Eric Adams, was at a Juneteenth event, where she highlighted her goals if elected back into local office.

“I believe in homeownership, I believe in tenant protections, I believe in the rising of this community. We’ve lost so much politically, economically and funding for the last few years. So I am running to fight to regain that,” said Dickens.

 

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