Elon Musk questions NYC ballot layout amid Cuomo–Mamdani race
As a contentious race for New York City mayor plays out between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani, among others, many X users are demanding clarity after Elon Musk, who supports Cuomo in the race, shared an image of the 2025 ballot to his millions of followers. The ballot shows the names of some mayoral candidates appearing twice, but not Cuomo, who is featured only once on the second line.
“The New York City ballot form is a scam! No ID is required. Other mayoral candidates appear twice. Cuomo’s name is last in the bottom right,” Musk’s post read.
The public is raising concerns about four areas of the voting process: no ID required at the polls, the frequency of name appearances, Cuomo’s name being listed on the second line and incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams’ name remaining on the ballot despite withdrawing from the race.
How is identity validated in NYC elections?
According to the New York City Board of Elections, registered voters do not need to show ID at the polls unless they did not provide identification when they registered.
For those voting for the first time, they must include some form of ID with their registration — such as a driver’s license number, a non-driver ID or the last four digits of their Social Security number. If they don’t have those, they can submit a copy of a photo ID, a utility bill, a bank statement or a government document that shows their name and address.
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Fusion voting occurs when multiple parties nominate the same candidate, and total votes for the candidate are added together when votes are counted.
So, while you don’t need to show ID at the polls, your identity is still verified either during registration or through documentation reviewed by poll workers if you vote by affidavit ballot, which is verified and counted after Election Day.
Why are some candidates listed twice?
Candidates may be listed multiple times due to fusion voting, a practice that “allows more than one political party to nominate the same candidate,” according to Ballotpedia.
As of May 2023, the states that employ this practice are Connecticut and New York. Mississippi allows it, but didn’t use it in 2023.
Mamdani appears twice because he was nominated by both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party. Mamdani isn’t the only one with multiple appearances — candidate Curtis Sliwa appears twice because he was nominated under the Republican Party and the Protect Animals Party, an independent party that he created.
Why is Cuomo listed at the bottom?
Cuomo isn’t listed at the bottom due to favoritism, or lack thereof. Candidates are placed on the ballot according to several factors determined by Section 7-116 of the New York State Election Law.
The key factor is a given party’s performance in the previous election. New York assigns Row A to the party whose gubernatorial candidate received the most votes in the last state election, giving that party’s mayoral nominee coveted top placement.
In this case, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul won the 2022 general election with 53% of the popular vote.
Relatedly, Cuomo only appears under his own independent party, Fight and Deliver, in contrast to Sliwa, who also appears under the Republican Party. Therefore, Cuomo is given less prominent placement on the ballot.
Why is Adams still on the ballot?
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is still on the ballot despite announcing his withdrawal in September. His withdrawal, however, came after the May 30 deadline. Any votes for Adams will still count, a Board of Elections official told PIX11 News.
The post Elon Musk questions NYC ballot layout amid Cuomo–Mamdani race appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
