LEILA FADEL, HOST:
New Yorkers are heading to the polls today to vote in the Democratic mayoral primary. There's a crowded field on the Democratic side, with the winner likely to become mayor of the country's largest city. Joining us now to explain what's at stake is NPR's Sarah Ventre in New York. Hi, Sarah.
SARAH VENTRE, BYLINE: Hi.
FADEL: OK. So, Sarah, this is a primary. But today's election could actually determine the city's next mayor, right?
VENTRE: Yes, so there is only one Republican candidate this year, and New York City is heavily Democratic. So whoever wins today's primary will go up against that one Republican candidate and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat and is now running as an independent. Now, even though he's still in office, in September, Eric Adams became the first sitting New York City mayor to face criminal charges, including bribery and fraud. He denied those corruption charges, and they were dismissed by a federal judge, but his popularity has plummeted as a result.
So these Democratic candidates are front and center. There are a total of 11, and the two most talked about are current member of the New York State Assembly Zohran Mamdani and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Now, you might remember that Cuomo resigned as governor following sexual harassment allegations, which he denied. And it was uncovered that his administration undercounted the number of COVID deaths in state-run nursing homes by as much as 50%. He has also denied that.
FADEL: OK, so a lot of backstory there. Looking ahead, what are the issues that are coming up in this campaign?
VENTRE: Well, affordability is a big one, especially housing and the cost of living in New York, also public safety and education. Cuomo is campaigning as a centrist. And Mamdani is much more progressive. He's a democratic socialist.
FADEL: OK, and in New York, the voting is ranked choice. How does that work, if you could explain it, Sarah?
VENTRE: OK, Leila, so this is New York, so just imagine for a second you're ordering a bagel.
FADEL: OK.
VENTRE: It's like telling the guy behind the counter, I want an everything. But if you don't have that, I'll take a poppy. And if you don't have that, I'll take a sesame.
FADEL: (Laughter).
VENTRE: Same with mayor. You get to choose your top five candidates in order. The votes are counted. And if one candidate has more than 50% of the vote, that person wins. If not, the candidate in last place is removed, and the votes are counted again.
So if your everything bagel was eliminated, then your vote gets redistributed to your second choice, the poppy. And this continues until there are only two candidates left. At that point, the one with the most votes wins.
FADEL: OK, so people are hoping they'll get the bagel they like.
VENTRE: (Laughter).
FADEL: How does this change campaigning?
VENTRE: Well, it means there's an interesting twist where it can actually be strategic for candidates to endorse one another as a way to try to knock someone else out of the rankings.
FADEL: Interesting.
VENTRE: So for example, Zohran Mamdani cross-endorsed two other candidates, including Brad Lander. Here's a clip of them endorsing each other.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRAD LANDER: Zohran, you've done a remarkable job building a historic grassroots campaign for a New York City all New Yorkers can afford.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Brad, you've been a principled progressive leader in our city for years.
VENTRE: So that is not something you hear very often on the campaign trail.
FADEL: No.
VENTRE: But together, they are hoping that they can overpower Cuomo.
FADEL: NPR's Sarah Ventre in New York. Thank you, Sarah.
VENTRE: Thanks, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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