Read on to get information on:

1. The Mayor’s race
2. The Working Families Party ballot line & fusion voting
3. Other races and candidates on your ballot
4. The 6 Ballot Measures
   • 1 - Upstate forest land
   • 2-4 - Housing measures
   • 5 - Maps
   • 6 - Even year elections
5. Where & when to vote, and checking your registration status

And if you find this guide useful, please share with your friends! jfrej.org/2025guide 

We highly recommend that you vote early. There is a real possibility of election interference from Trump, and this is one thing we can do to make sure our votes are counted.

The Mayor’s race

JFREJ has proudly endorsed Zohran Kwame Mamdani for mayor! We need every last vote for Zohran, so he can win by a HUGE and decisive margin (we are aiming for 50+% of the vote!) that allows him to take office in January with an overwhelming mandate to implement the transformative agenda he ran on. Want to help us achieve that goal? Check in with your friends and family to make sure that they have a plan to vote, and sign up to knock doors or phonebank with us at jfrej.org/field.

The Working Families Party ballot line & fusion voting

Wherever you can, vote on the Working Families Party ballot line (Row D)! In NYC we have fusion voting, which means that all of the votes for a candidate, no matter what line they’re on, get added together. Voting on the WFP line helps elect your candidate now, and helps build progressive power in the long run. Read more at https://votewfp.info. 

Other races and candidates on your ballot

Beyond Mayor, you’ll see candidates for Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, City Council, and possibly District Attorney and Judges on your ballot (depending on borough). When in doubt, vote on the Working Families Party line! Or the Democratic line, when WFP isn’t available. While JFREJ did not necessarily support every candidate who won their Democratic primary, we are confident that the Democrats running in each of these races are better than the Republican options.

The 6 Ballot Measures

Here are the 6 ballot measures, and some context for how to approach them when deciding how to vote.  One important note is that not all of our movement partners or constituencies within JFREJ agree on them! That’s okay: we know that while we won’t always agree on everything, a diversity of opinions – even on the left – helps make our city stronger.

1. Amendment to Allow Olympic Sports Complex In Essex County on State Forest Preserve Land

Language as it appears on the ballot: 

Allows skiing and related trail facilities on state forest preserve land. The site is 1,039 acres. Requires State to add 2,500 acres of new forest land in Adirondack Park.

A yes vote authorizes new ski trails and related facilities in the Adirondack forest preserve.

A no vote does not authorize this use.

~~ Who has weighed in? ~~

Pro: Adirondack Council & Protect Adirondacks & WE ACT for Environmental Justice

“[These groups] endorse a yes vote, as it will allow the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex to come into compliance with state law (it has been expanding over several decades without voter approval) and also compensates the public for this development with reciprocal new protected acreage.” (from PSC-CUNY’s excellent voter guide)

Con: Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, Soft Power Vote

“This ballot measure weakens the ‘forever wild’ designation by carving an exception and sets precedent for development in protected lands, which undermines the standard we point to when fighting for strong environmental protections.” - Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition

For a deeper dive, read this Gothamist article: Why New Yorkers Will Vote on an Adirondack Complex Expansion that has Already Happened

2-4. The Housing Measures: 

2. Fast Track Affordable Housing to Build More Affordable Housing Across the City

Language as it appears on the ballot:

Fast track publicly financed affordable housing. Fast track applications delivering affordable housing in the community districts that produce the least affordable housing, significantly reducing review time. Maintain Community Board review.

“Yes” fast tracks applications at the Board of Standards and Appeals or City Planning Commission.

“No” leaves affordable housing subject to longer review and final decision at City Council.

3. Simplify Review of Modest Housing and Infrastructure Projects

Language as it appears on the ballot:

Simplify review of modest amounts of additional housing and minor infrastructure projects, significantly reducing review time. Maintain Community Board review, with final decision by the City Planning Commission.

“Yes” simplifies review for limited land-use changes, including modest housing and minor infrastructure projects.

“No” leaves these changes subject to longer review, with final decision by City Council.

4. Establish an Affordable Housing Appeals Board with Council, Borough, and Citywide Representation

Language as it appears on the ballot:

Establish an Affordable Housing Appeals Board with the Council Speaker, local Borough President, and Mayor to review Council actions that reject or change applications creating affordable housing.

“Yes” creates the three-member Affordable Housing Appeals Board to reflect Council, borough, and citywide perspectives.

“No” leaves affordable housing subject to the Mayor’s veto and final decision by City Council.

~~ Our thoughts ~~

 The big picture: These ballot measures were created to address the slow pace of approval for new housing in NYC. These measures generally centralize more power with the mayor, and less with individual councilmembers. This could be bad under a bad mayor, and potentially good under a good mayor. Who is mayor is not static! These initiatives (particularly #4) would simultaneously prevent conservatives from blocking affordable and multi-family housing in their districts, but also make it harder for progressive to negotiate for deeper affordability in new projects.

Reasons to vote ‘no’: Some city council members (ranging from some longtime JFREJ allies in the Progressive Caucus to Republicans) oppose these measures. There is a legitimate fear that this change could make it more difficult to organize against bad developments, and it's reasonable to be suspicious of ballot measures that were created under Mayor Adams’s charter commission.

Reasons to vote ‘yes’: At the same time, some longtime JFREJ members (including NYC Comptroller Brad Lander) and movement groups we organize with support these ballot measures as necessary for continued progress in building affordable housing. The current system has not managed to result in as much new housing being built over the last few decades as many would like to see, and passing these ballot measures could help speed up the process of building.

The bottom line: Ultimately, these measures may not have a huge impact, as they won’t change the process for a lot of new development. But they are contentious!

~~ Additional Resources ~~

Pro: Read the argument from Yes on Affordable Housing and take a look at their coalition members. Listen to Cea Weaver discuss the ballot measures with Ben Max (starts at roughly 50:10).

Mixed: Read NY League of Women Voters’ analysis on why they are a yes on 2 and 3, and a no on 4, as well as analysis from housing policy experts in discussion with Hellgate.

Con: Read the argument from a coalition of council members and unions' press release against the measure, as well as Soft Power Vote and Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition.

5. Create a Digital City Map to Modernize City Operations

Language as it appears on the ballot:

Consolidate borough map office and address assignment functions, and create one digital City Map at Department of City Planning. Today, the City Map consists of paper maps across five offices.

“Yes” creates a consolidated, digital City Map.

“No” leaves in place five separate map and address assignment functions, administered by Borough President Offices.

~~ Our thoughts ~~

How often do you get to cast a vote about maps?! Three out of five borough presidents support this measure, and we see no big reason not to move to a centralized digital map. Go forth, cartographers!

6. Move Local Elections to Presidential Election Years to Increase Voter Participation

Language as it appears on the ballot:

Move the City’s primary and general election dates so that City elections are held in the same year as Federal Presidential elections, when permitted by state law.

“Yes” moves City elections to the same year as Federal Presidential Elections, when permitted by state law.

“No” leaves laws unchanged.

~~ Our thoughts ~~

This measure would be a major change in how elections work in NYC and its impact would depend on how it is implemented and how voters are educated about this change. Here are some thoughtful arguments from JFREJers on both sides of the debate:

Pro arguments:

• Moving city elections to presidential election years will increase turnout in the general election (this is data-backed).
• It could allow JFREJ and other movement organizations to plan farther in advance, and give us off-years for the election calendar that may allow us to focus more on issue-based organizing.
• It would reduce the cost of elections and could encourage elected officials and their staff to spend more time focusing on capacity building and providing services within their government offices.
• It could also reduce the current “musical chairs” situation where state-level electeds can run for city positions without giving up their seat, and vice-versa. Currently, many elected officials run like this, and resign from seats strategically so that the local party machines can install their own preferred candidates, and avoid competitive primary elections where voters get to pick the candidates and may challenge the machine power.

Con arguments:

• Switching to having all contests on the ballot at once will make the ballot longer, giving voters more to keep track of.
• Primary elections often decide who will govern in NYC, because it is a majority Democratic city. Depending on how the city chooses to implement the rule, it’s likely our city and state primary elections would be held on different dates (a few months apart from each other) even if the general elections were combined. If that happens, we haven’t found data to help us predict how Proposal 6 will impact turnout for the deciding elections.
• Big election years with races all the way up to Congress and President may make it easier for federal issues and big national spending to eclipse the local races and issues.
• And perhaps our candidates may do better in our current system of smaller elections.

~~ Who has weighed in? ~~

Pro: Read the WE ACT for Environmental Justice, NY League of Women Voters, and Soft Power Vote’s support statements for this measure and the Citizen Union’s extensive report on how general election turnout, including on local races, has been impacted in other cities that have implemented the even year ballot rules. 

Con: Read op-eds like this one from Errol Louis, or this one from Paul Newell. 

Where & when to vote, and checking your registration status

• Early voting runs from Saturday, October 25th through Sunday, November 2nd. Pollsite hours vary by day, check them here. There is a real possibility of election interference from Trump – to ward against this, vote early if you can!
• Election day is Tuesday, November 4th. Pollsites will be open 6am-9pm, and you are entitled to vote as long as you are standing in line by 9pm.
• Use this link to find your early voting and day-of pollsite locations, as well as to view a sample ballot.
• All registered voters in NYC can vote in this general election, regardless of party. Check your registration status here.

Please share this guide!

If you found this guide useful, please share it widely with your families, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. jfrej.org/2025guide  And if you aren’t yet a member of JFREJ, please join us at jfrej.org/join!