As New Yorkers line up to cast their midterm ballots early through Sunday, November 1, and others prepare to brave the crowds next Tuesday, November 3, some cultural institutions and museums are turning into voting sites.
"Only in New York City can you vote in places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art," Mayor Zohran Mamdani reminded viewers in an Instagram video today, October 26, while weaving through The Met's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at the Manhattan institution. "I just voted here on the first day of early voting. It only took five minutes."
Along with hundreds of public schools, community centers, libraries, and other city gathering spaces, several museums are opening their doors for early voters. The American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan will welcome early voters through its 77th Street entrance, according to a banner on its website. Since the 2024 election cycle, the museum has set up voting stations on the first floor of the building for easy accessibility.
Across Central Park, The Met returns as an early voting site after serving as one for multiple past general elections and the primaries this June. The Brooklyn Museum, another longtime venue for elections, will also be open for early voting.