NY 12th Congressional District: Map, Representative, and Voting

New York’s 12th Congressional District covers Manhattan’s core, running from the Upper West Side and Upper East Side down through Midtown to Chelsea, Gramercy Park, and Union Square. It holds roughly 700,000 residents in one of the densest urban areas in the country. Longtime Representative Jerrold Nadler has announced he will not seek re-election in 2026, opening the seat for the first time since 1992.

Neighborhoods in the District

The district is entirely within Manhattan. It includes Morningside Heights, Yorkville, Carnegie Hill, Kips Bay, Roosevelt Island, Tudor City, Turtle Bay, Hell’s Kitchen, Murray Hill, Lenox Hill, the Theater District, Clinton, the Garment District, Sutton Place, Lincoln Center, and Stuyvesant Town.¹ Central Park, Times Square, and most of Manhattan’s major cultural and financial landmarks sit inside its borders.

Two other congressional districts share Manhattan: the 13th to the north, which reaches into Harlem and the Bronx, and the 10th to the south, which covers Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.² If you’re unsure which district your address falls in, the NYC Board of Elections publishes the full district map.

Who Represents the District

Jerrold Nadler has represented the district since winning a special election in 1992.³ He chaired the House Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2023 and currently serves on the Judiciary Committee and as ranking member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.⁴

In late 2025, Nadler announced that his current term will be his last, ending more than 32 years in Congress.⁵ The 2026 race will be the district’s first open-seat contest in over three decades, and a crowded primary field is expected.

How the District Votes

NY-12 is one of the most heavily Democratic congressional districts in the country. The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates it D+33, meaning it voted 33 points more Democratic than the national average in recent presidential elections and ranked as the 9th most Democratic district nationally heading into 2026.⁶ Nadler took about 80% of the vote in the 2024 general election.

The practical effect: whoever wins the Democratic primary is very likely the next member of Congress. That makes the June primary the election that decides the seat.

2026 Election Dates and Deadlines

Primary Election: June 23, 2026⁷
Primary registration deadline: June 13, 2026 (application must be received by the Board of Elections)⁸
Primary early voting: June 13–21, 2026
General Election: November 3, 2026⁷
General election registration deadline: October 24, 2026⁷
General election early voting: October 24–November 1, 2026⁷

New York runs closed primaries. You must be enrolled in a party to vote in that party’s primary, and voters registered without a party affiliation will not receive a primary ballot. Party enrollment changes generally must be made well before the primary, so check your registration status early.

How to Register

To register, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old by Election Day, and a resident of the state and your county, city, or village for at least 30 days before the election. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can pre-register but cannot vote until they turn 18.⁹

Three options are available:

Online through the state’s voter registration portal at elections.ny.gov, using a NY.gov ID. The same portal lets you update your address, name, or party enrollment.⁹
By mail, using the registration form from elections.ny.gov (available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Bengali, and several other languages), mailed to your county Board of Elections.
In person at your county Board of Elections, a state agency voter registration center, or a DMV office.

The form needs a handwritten signature. Digital or software-generated signatures are not accepted.⁹

Voter ID at the Polls

Most voters do not need to show photo ID. If you provided a driver’s license number, non-driver ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number when you registered, you’re set.¹⁰

First-time voters who did not supply any of those identifiers need to bring ID on Election Day. Acceptable documents include a current photo ID, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or government document showing your name and address. A first-time voter without ID can still cast an affidavit ballot, which is verified by the Board of Elections after the fact rather than scanned at the poll site.¹⁰

Ways to Vote

Early Mail Ballot

Any registered voter can request an early mail ballot without providing a reason. You must apply yourself; nobody else can submit the application for you. Applications must reach your county Board of Elections at least ten days before the election.¹¹ Once you get the ballot, mark it, seal it in the provided envelope, and return it. It must be postmarked no later than Election Day and received within seven days after the election.¹²

Watch the mailbox collection times if you’re dropping a ballot on the last day. A ballot deposited after the day’s final collection won’t be postmarked until the next business day, and it won’t count.¹¹

Early In-Person Voting

Early voting runs June 13–21 for the primary and October 24–November 1 for the general election.⁷ During early voting you cannot use your usual Election Day poll site. Instead, you go to a designated early voting location. Find your assigned early voting site by entering your address at the NYC Board of Elections poll site finder at findmypollsite.vote.nyc.

Election Day

Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Election Day. The same poll site finder shows your Election Day location, which may differ from your early voting site.

Every polling site in New York City has at least one Ballot Marking Device for voters with disabilities, offering touchscreen, Braille keypad, sip-and-puff, and rocker paddle input, along with audio, high-contrast, and zoom options for the screen. Accessibility Clerks at each site provide assistance on request.¹³

1
Congressman Jerry Nadler. Our District
2
NYC Board of Elections. Current NYC District Maps
3
Congressman Jerry Nadler. Biography
4
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Member Profile – Jerrold Nadler
5
Congressman Jerry Nadler. Nadler Statement on Decision to Not Seek Re-election
6
Cook Political Report. NY-12 2026
7
New York State Board of Elections. 2026 Political Calendar
8
New York State Board of Elections. 2026 Election Deadlines
9
New York State Board of Elections. Voter Registration Process
10
NYC Board of Elections. Voter ID
11
New York State Board of Elections. Request a Ballot
12
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 8-710 – Early Mail Ballots; Deadline for Receipt
13
NYC Board of Elections. Ballot Marking Device