New Yorkers voting in the Democratic Primary are questioning why Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is listed first, at the very top of the ballot sheet.
Mamdani — an assemblyman who has gained momentum in recent polling to catch up with favorite Andrew Cuomo — has copped backlash for his refusal to acknowledge Israel having a right to exist as a Jewish state and his involvement in the “BDS” movement, which seeks to divert US funding to the country.
The 33-year-old candidate, who is a Muslim, has also raised eyebrows with his pie in the sky policy proposals, such as city-owned grocery stores and free bus service — that would cost taxpayers at least $10 billion.
The Board of Elections (BoE) have explained the ballot order is randomly selected and bound by strict regulations, but some people are demanding more transparency.
New York resident Simone Weichselbaum, 43, cast her vote as early voting began on Saturday — less than two weeks ahead of the June 24 primary election — but walked away from the booths frustrated and concerned.
“As a pro-Israel Midtown East Jewish voter, I voted yesterday and was shocked to see Mamdani listed first on the long list of names of mayoral candidates — we have a very crowded field this year,” she told The Post.”
“It took me a lot longer to vote because you have to go down the list and rank them.”
The 2025 race is the second time ranked choice voting has been used. New Yorkers can choose up to five candidates in order of preference.
When all first choice votes are counted, if one candidate has more than 50% of votes, they win. If not, the candidate in last place is eliminated and the second choice of the people who voted for the eliminated candidate is counted.
This process continues until there are only two candidates left, upon which the candidate with the most votes wins.
“Voters who are less enthusiastic might not take the time to consider their options. A lazy voter might just go ‘f—k this’, and go down the line, selecting Mamdani first,” Weichselbaum said.
“I want to know how the random selection process works. Who is in the room? Is it AI creating the list? Are they putting names in a hat? We need more transparency around this selection process.”
A crowded field of candidates, including former governor Cuomo, current Comptroller Brad Lander and current Speaker of the New York City Council Adrienne Adams are all running in the city’s mayoral race.
New York law requires the Board of Elections in the City of New York to determine the order in which names are printed on the official Primary Election Day ballot in a random drawing.
State law requires a board of elections or other elections officer to prepare a primary ballot with “numbered spheres and an automatic selection machine similar to those used for bingo games or for drawing state lottery numbers”.
A number is then pulled for each of the candidates and whatever comes out is where they end up on the list.
This year’s drawing for the June 24, 2025 Primary Election ballot positions was livestreamed on the Board’s website on April 30, however an archive of the draw did not seem to be available Monday.
“Prior to the date of the drawing, the commissioners shall designate at least two persons who will conduct the drawing for all offices,” the state election law citation reads.
“Candidates or their designees may inspect the device or devices to be used for the drawings, at the date and time established by the board, and in the presence of the two commissioners or their designees.”
However, many voters are unaware of that process and therein lies the problem, according to Weichselbaum.
“The BOE should actively publicize it and run public service announcements so the public goes into the voting booth knowing what to expect,” she said.
“I give the BOE a fat letter F — for failing voters during such an important mayoral election that’s flooded with so many candidates.”
Another New Yorker, Darren Glick, 54, told The Post he had been “receiving a lot of questions” from people in the Jewish community who were already “confused about the ranking system”.
“This is such a large group of mayoral candidates, it would be easier for people to scroll through the list alphabetically,” he said.
“[Making the process difficult] could lead to people not finding their candidate… especially for people who want to vote Cuomo and don’t realize he’s at the bottom of the list.”
The New York State Board of Elections did not return a request for comment.
Cuomo is widely considered the frontrunner in the race, with many local Democrats fearing the consequences of one of the fields’ more progressive politicians winning.
Incumbent Eric Adams, a Democrat, is running as an independent, so is not included in the primary for the Democrat party, but will be on the November general election ballot.
Early voting is open through until Sunday, June 22 and election day is June 24 when polls will be open across the five boroughs from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.