Key findings
- In the 2022 general election, likely homeowners turned out at 67.5% and likely renters at 36.5%, a gap of 31 percentage points.
- In races where candidates vocally supported Good Cause eviction, the gap narrowed to about 18 points after adjusting for race and ethnicity.
- If renters voted at homeowners' rates, they could have cast majorities in most State Senate and Assembly districts and in statewide contests.
Property requirements for voting ended long ago, but turnout in New York still splits along housing tenure. This issue uses Catalist voter-file records to estimate turnout for likely renters and likely homeowners in every 2022 State Senate and Assembly race.
The gap was smaller where candidates campaigned on tenant protections, which suggests a way to mobilize the nearly half of New Yorkers who rent. A thought experiment shows what a tenant electorate voting at homeowners' rates would mean for the Legislature.
Catalist access came through Housing Justice for All and the New York Civic Engagement Table. The issue was released with a companion fact sheet and two interactive district maps.
Related
- Activating the Tenant Vote · Companion fact sheet, with Tenants PAC
- Housing tenure and voter turnout: State Senate districts · Interactive map
- Housing tenure and voter turnout: Assembly districts · Interactive map
Cite this issue
Weaver, Russell. 2024. “Analyzing the Turnout Gap Between Tenants and Homeowners in the 2022 New York State General Election.” High Road Policy 4(1). Buffalo, NY: Cornell University ILR School, Buffalo Co-Lab. https://hdl.handle.net/1813/115285.