Thousands Line Up in Richmond to Vote for New York City Mayor Candidate, Zohran Mamdani
RICHMOND — Chaos broke out across Madison County Tuesday morning after thousands of residents showed up to polling places that were not open, attempting to cast votes for “New York City Mayor candidate, Zohran Mamdani” — an election that, to the deep frustration of county officials, does not exist in Kentucky.
By 8 a.m., cars were wrapped around the courthouse, McDonald's, and the Tractor Supply parking lot as voters proudly told bewildered deputies they were “here to save New York.”
“I saw on Facebook that we could vote for that one guy with the nice beard,” said Richmond resident Pamela Lakes, referring to Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens who is not on any ballot in Kentucky. “I don't like how things are going up there, and I figured we could help.”
County Clerk Kenny Barber said he arrived at work to find more than 400 people waiting in line, most of them holding expired driver's licenses and asking if they could “do early voting for Manhattan.”
“I told one feller this ain't even an election year,” Barber said. “He said, ‘That's what they want you to think.’ Then he winked.”
The situation escalated after someone set up a folding table outside the courthouse with a handwritten sign that read “REGISTER HERE TO VOTE FOR ZOHRAN.” Witnesses say the table was offering free bagels, “I ♥ New York” stickers, and something called “emotional absentee ballots.”
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams was eventually forced to issue a statement clarifying that “Kentuckians cannot, under any circumstances, vote for the Mayor of New York City.”
Despite this, voters continued to insist the state was hiding something.
“Michael Adams can say whatever he wants. But I saw a TikTok that said democracy knows no zip code.”— TROY PERKINS, LIFELONG BEREA RESIDENT
Reached for comment, Zohran Mamdani appeared genuinely confused, tweeting, “Deeply honored by the support from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I will continue fighting for affordable housing in Astoria and, apparently, Richmond.”
As of press time, election officials were working to clear the crowd, while several residents remained outside chanting, “COUNT THE NEW YORK VOTES!”
One Richmond woman summed up the day's events best:
“We might not be able to vote in it,” she said, “but it's nice to finally care about something besides the bypass.”
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