When it comes to political parties, Mayor Eric Adams isn’t the only New Yorker looking for independent options.

“What we’re talking about is mostly a group of people that are young, not interested in registering to a political party,” Allie Swatek, director of policy research for the New York City Campaign Finance Board, said.

This group of voters is growing. The new voter analysis report from the city’s Campaign Finance Board found 21% of city voters are now registered as unaffiliated.

“There’s actually more unaffiliated voters registered in New York City than members of the Republican Party,” Swatek said.

“We’re a little more open-minded to things,” Steven Lugo, a city voter, said.

Lugo is among the 49% of unaffiliated voters who are under the age of 40.

“What we hear from predominantly young people … they don’t want to register to a political party because they feel that they don’t represent their policy issues or their platforms,” Swatek said.

“I feel like it shouldn’t matter what party you vote for. It’s just whatever is suiting the state of the country at that moment in time,” Lugo said.

Swatek pointed out that unaffiliated voters cannot cast ballots in primary elections, such as the race for mayor in June.

“In some cases, the person who ends up being elected is often decided in the primary election,” she said.

During the 2024 general election last November, voter turnout for the five boroughs was at 60%.

“Which may sound high, and it actually is for New York City, but it’s not very high compared to other states in the nation,” Swatek said.

The report also found voter fatigue with primaries held last year in April and June. To improve voter turnout, the board is calling on state legislators and election officials to explore ways to consolidate upcoming election dates.

“We consistently rank as a state in the bottom 20% of turnout, and so that’s something that is obviously a concern for us,” Swatek said.

According to the report, in the general election last November, 38% of voters utilized in person early voting.