In the fiercely competitive mayoral election in New York City, a bizarre incident has emerged where some candidates’ names appeared twice on the ballot. This has sparked heated discussions in the public about election confusion and cultural clashes on voting day.
The unusual phenomenon was first exposed by the betting website Polymarket on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
The 2025 New York City mayoral election will see a competition between Democratic State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, independent candidate and former Democratic State Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani, who identifies as a socialist and is well-known for advocating actively on housing and climate issues, had his name appear on the candidate lists of both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party. This duplication, along with the multilingual translations on the ballot, has caused a stir online. Polymarket’s post garnered over two million views.
Billionaire Elon Musk shared a photo of a New York City ballot on his social media platform X, calling it a “scam” because Cuomo’s name only appeared once on the ballot in the lower right corner, while some other candidates’ names appeared twice.
There were also arguments that the name of Republican candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels, Sliwa, appeared twice as well, listed under both the Republican Party and the Animal Protection Party.
Political commentator Kevin Smith wrote on Twitter, “Don’t worry, everyone, this is normal.” He attributed this phenomenon to cross-party endorsements.
Election officials in New York City dismissed concerns of invalid ballots, insisting that this design complies with state laws, aiming to accommodate voters of various languages and reflecting the city’s diverse cultural background with over 800 languages.
According to the regulations of the New York City Board of Elections, the “fusion voting” system is implemented, allowing candidates to receive nominations from multiple parties simultaneously. Additionally, the sequence of independent candidates is determined by the order in which they submitted their applications.
This allows voters to support their preferred candidates without being bound to vote strictly along party lines.
Since Mamdani won the Democratic primary, his name appears under the Democratic column, but he is also the nominee for the radical “Working Families Party.” Voters can choose to vote for him under either party column (but not both simultaneously), and during the counting, Mamdani’s total votes will include votes from both parties.
Analysts predict that Mamdani’s name appearing twice may unintentionally increase his votes, but it could also alienate moderate voters concerned about what appears to be favoritism.
By midday, the controversy had heightened voter turnout in key districts, turning a minor ballot incident into a nationwide focus event.
As the voting results are progressively announced tonight, one thing is evident: in the bustling metropolis of New York, even a minor detail on the ballot can become a widely watched focal point.