This presidential election year, cries of voter fatigue abound.
In New York City, however, no matter how jaded voters feel, more New Yorkers will turn out to cast a ballot in the November presidential election than they do for pretty much any other election.
New Yorkers had the opportunity to vote for City Council last year, and will cast ballots for mayor next year. But the sad reality is most New Yorkers simply don’t vote in local elections.
This isn’t because they don’t want to. It’s because our city election system isn’t conducive to — and in certain ways, actively discourages — equal participation.
In a city where 82% of eligible voters are registered, the gap between registration and participation is staggering. The number of registered voters who actually turn out to cast a ballot ranges from 7.2% (last year’s City Council primaries) to 29.5% (average for mayoral elections from 2001-2023) to 60.8% (average for federal elections from 2001-2023).
A city as vibrant and multifaceted as New York should have an electorate that reflects that. We can revolutionize voter turnout in New York City with one seemingly simple move: changing when elections happen.
Right now federal and state elections fall on different years than local elections. Voters consistently turn out in higher numbers for even-year elections featuring federal contests. For many reasons largely to do with media and money, it’s relatively easy to forget to vote for your local City Council member, and relatively difficult to forget to vote for president.
Shifting local elections to even years to coincide with state and federal elections would increase turnout for city races that shape New Yorkers’ day-to-day lives.
Research shows this to be true. After Baltimore aligned local elections with presidential elections in 2016, turnout jumped from 13.3% in 2013 to 62.2% in 2016 and 60.9% in 2020. Los Angeles shifted local elections to fall on the presidential election year in 2020, leading voter turnout in City Council races to double across all districts, and some districts seeing four times more voters than before.
Our current system asks New Yorkers to turn out for far too many elections — at minimum, one primary and one general election per year. For a voter who is more concerned with meeting their basic needs than being civically engaged — most voters, that is — this is a lot to ask.
Beyond increasing the sheer number of voters who turn out, aligning local elections with state and federal elections has myriad benefits. It increases representation among people who show up, especially younger voters and voters of color. It reduces the influence of special interests, whose independent expenditures have more power to sway low-turnout elections.
Consolidating elections would also save taxpayers the $60 million it costs to administer low-participation primary and general elections.
This is far from a radical policy change. It’s already happening statewide. Gov. Hochul signed legislation in 2023 shifting most county and local elections to even years. Unfortunately, the 2023 legislation did not apply to New York City, because changing the city’s election schedule requires an amendment to the state Constitution.
Still, we can win this common-sense legislative fix to encourage widespread participation in democracy. State Sen. James Skoufis already introduced the very amendment we need to get it done.
Of course, it’s not good enough to hold fewer elections and call it a day. It’s on us — as government, as advocates, and as civically minded neighbors — to invest in the work of understanding what communities want and need, build and earn trust, and increase participation over time, through culturally competent, community-based, sustained voter engagement.
This is why I’m so proud of the work my colleagues at the Campaign Finance Board, and its public-facing arm, NYC Votes, do every day to meet New Yorkers in their communities and weave together the fabric of civic engagement in our city.
Strengthening our democracy and ensuring it works for everyone does not fall upon any individual voter. It’s the responsibility of government to do everything in our power to increase participation — from shifting the elections calendar so voters get more bang for their buck every time they show up, to meeting them where they are and listening to what would make voting accessible and worthwhile to them.
A democracy is only as good as the people who make it. New York has the roadmap to building a stronger, more inclusive democracy. Now we just have to get moving.
Ryan is executive director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB), an independent, nonpartisan city agency that bridges the gaps that have historically made it harder for New Yorkers to participate in democracy. The CFB’s Voter Analysis Report, an annual analysis of New York City election turnout and trends, is available here.
