New York City voters flocked to the polls in record numbers on the first day of early voting on Saturday.

A total of 140,145 voters checked into early voting locations to cast their ballots in a presidential contest that remains on a razor’s edge nationally, even as Vice President Kamala Harris has a commanding lead over New York City, according to recent polls. former President Donald Trump. . It marks the highest number of voters on the first day of early voting since the policy took effect five years ago, surpassing the first day turnout of 2020 by nearly 50,000 voters.

The New York City Board of Elections announced the record turnout numbers on the social media platform X just an hour after the polls closed at 5 p.m. that day.

Brooklyn prevailed with 40,289 voters, followed by 38,237 in Manhattan, 31,671 in Queens, 16,462 in the Bronx and 13,486 on Staten Island.

Gothamist visited one of the busiest early voting locations in southeast Queens, at the Rochdale Village Community Center, where the wait time map on the New York City Board of Elections website indicated voters waited up to 50 minutes to cast their ballots , to find out what was going on. motivating voters to come out on the first day of in-person voting.

“I always try to vote early and it doesn’t matter what the election is. I know a lot of people are sacrificing for our right to vote,” said Mike Shannon of Laurelton. The 65-year-old retired police lieutenant, who currently works as an elementary school teacher, said voting was one of the ways he honored his father’s military service.

Shannon said he voted for Harris because he believed she was better qualified. “We gave Donald Trump a chance,” Shannon said, adding, “Some felons can’t vote, (and) he’s running for the highest office in the land, so that doesn’t really sit well with me.”

(Currently, there are 10 states in the country where a person convicted of certain crimes loses their right to vote indefinitely, according to data collected by the National Conference of State Legislatures. In New York, a person convicted of a crime loses only their right to vote right to vote. right to vote while serving a sentence for a crime.)

Kersana Ward, a 36-year-old social worker from Rosedale, said she voted to protect women’s health care, which is why she supported Harris.

“Not only is she an educated woman, but she is a woman for the people,” Ward said.

In what could portend trouble for the fate of the ballot initiatives — including Proposition 1, which supporters say would enshrine abortion access in the state constitution — Ward said she did not vote on the initiatives on the back of her ballot because she didn’t. don’t have enough information about them.

Tricia Haynes, a teacher in her 50s from Springfield Gardens, and her son Trison, 33, went to vote together on Saturday. Neither would name who they voted for, but they insisted their votes did not cancel each other out, despite giving very different reasons for how they reached their decisions.

Trison said he was motivated by foreign affairs, citing the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. “And new conflicts could arise abroad,” he added.

“Basically Project 2025,” Haynes said, referring to the controversial Heritage Foundation paper considered a blueprint for a second Trump administration. She also mentioned women’s rights and the ability to freely access abortion and reproductive health care. “I have a 16-year-old daughter and I think it’s very important that she can make her own choice,” Haynes said.

Women of all ages pointed out the need to protect women’s bodily autonomy.

“I never said you can’t have a vasectomy,” said Alpine James, a retired member of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal employee union. “Why are you meddling in my business?”

The 78-year-old said that of all the elections she has seen, this one was most reminiscent of 2016, when Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “That was a little heartbreaking,” she said. If Trump wins again, she said, it will be “a dictatorship.”

Despite her strong feelings, James did not cast a vote on Saturday. She arrived late and the polling station doors were already closed.

“I’ll be here at seven o’clock,” said James, “and if I have to, I’ll take my chair and sit there and wait.”

The polling stations will open again on Sunday at 8 a.m. Find your early voting or Election Day location in New York City here. Please note that early voting locations in New York City are open from 8am to 5pm on weekends and from 8am to 8pm on weekdays.