How NYC plans to get young people to vote: Less politics, more influencers

Ahead of this fall’s midterm elections, New York City’s Campaign Finance Board is betting that one way to reach young voters is to make voting information look a little less like politics as usual.

Young New Yorkers are coming off a dramatic surge in participation in the 2025 election that helped send Zohran Mamdani to Gracie Mansion. Turnout among voters ages 18 to 29 jumped to 41.9% in the general election, up from 11.1% in the 2021 city election, according to the CFB. Voters under 30 also accounted for nearly two-thirds of new registrations last year.