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From the Northside to University Hill, a historical number of voters turned out early to elect Sharon Owens mayor of Syracuse.

There are 73,343 registered voters in the city, according to the most recent data collected by the Onondaga County Board of Elections in June. On Tuesday night, 19,325 — or about 26% — voters showed up to vote in the mayoral race.

Current Deputy Mayor and Democrat Sharon Owens won the Syracuse mayoral election by a wide margin, securing 73.82% of the final vote. Democrats also won seats across the Onondaga County Legislature — securing 10 of 17 spots and flipping the legislature blue for the first time in nearly 50 years.

About 91,500 voters in Onondaga County showed up at the polls on election night, the OCBOE reported in an X post Tuesday night. Out of those votes, 17,218 were submitted early, the largest early voting turnout the county has ever seen in a local election.

The 29.14% county voter turnout is slightly lower than the 30.7% rate in the 2021 mayoral election.

Tuesday also saw the election of three Democratic Syracuse City School District commissioners — incumbents Twiggy Billue and Karen Cordano, along with newcomer Michael Root. Several uncontested races for Syracuse Common Council seats, Common Council president and county legislature.were on the ballot as well.

Syracuse, divided into 19 voting wards, saw overwhelming support for Owens across all neighborhoods, along with a few votes for Republican candidate Thomas Babilon, who made up 18.64% of the total vote, and only 6.88% for independent candidates Alfonso Davis and Tim Rudd combined.

The Daily Orange has broken down voter turnout in the mayoral election by voting ward, using election night results and city voter enrollment data from June 2025.

First Ward

• Total votes: 851
• Sharon Owens — 499 — 58.64%
• Thomas Babilon — 278 — 32.67%
• Tim Rudd — 34 — 4.00%
• Alfonso Davis — 32 — 3.76%
• Write-ins — 8 — 0.94%

Syracuse’s First Ward includes the city’s Near Westside and Tipperary Hill neighborhoods, and reported 851 votes, just over 20% of its total registered voters in June, according to data from OCBOE.

Babilon secured 32.67% of votes in the First Ward, making it his most successful region. About 16% of the area is registered Republican.

Second Ward

• Total votes: 442
• Sharon Owens — 315 — 71.27%
• Thomas Babilon — 99 — 22.40%
• Tim Rudd — 9 — 2.04%
• Alfonso Davis — 16 — 3.62%
• Write-ins — 3 — 0.68%

The Second Ward, which includes the southwestern neighborhoods of the Southside, Elmwood and Strathmore, reported 442 votes. This is about 19% of its total registered voters in June.

Third Ward

• Total votes: 929
• Sharon Owens — 598 — 64.37%
• Thomas Babilon — 276 — 29.71%
• Tim Rudd — 31 — 3.34%
• Alfonso Davis — 19 — 2.05%
• Write-ins — 5 — 0.54%

Syracuse’s Third Ward, which includes parts of the city’s Eastside, Brighton and University Hill neighborhoods, saw 929 voters – just over 22% of total registered voters in June.

Fourth Ward

• Total votes: 1,670
• Sharon Owens — 1,045 — 62.57%
• Thomas Babilon — 500 — 29.94%
• Tim Rudd — 85 — 5.09%
• Alfonso Davis — 30 — 1.80%
• Write-ins — 10 — 0.60%

About 1,670 of 6,120 of recorded registered voters — a little over 27% — voted in the Fourth Ward. The area makes up parts of University Hill, Westcott and Downtown neighborhoods.

Fifth Ward

• Total votes: 2,094
• Sharon Owens — 1,427 — 68.15%
• Thomas Babilon — 536 — 25.60%
• Tim Rudd — 87 — 4.15%
• Alfonso Davis — 36 — 1.72%
• Write-ins — 8 — 0.38%

The Fifth Ward, which includes the Near Northside, Lakefront and Washington Square neighborhoods, saw a turnout of 2,094. This is about 33.6% of total registered voters in June.

Sixth Ward

• Total votes: 717
• Sharon Owens — 533 — 74.34%
• Thomas Babilon — 132 — 18.41%
• Tim Rudd — 12 — 1.67%
• Alfonso Davis — 37 — 5.16%
• Write-ins — 3 — 0.42%

The Sixth Ward reported 717 votes, just over 21% of its total registered voters in June. The area covers parts of Syracuse’s Northside, including the Lincoln Hill and Sedgwick neighborhoods.

Seventh Ward

• Total votes: 550
• Sharon Owens — 333 — 60.55%
• Thomas Babilon — 165 — 30.00%
• Tim Rudd — 24 — 4.36%
• Alfonso Davis — 17 — 3.09%
• Write-ins — 11 — 2.00%

The Seventh Ward, which covers the Northeast side of Syracuse, including parts of the Eastwood, Salt Springs and Meadowbrook neighborhoods, saw 550 voters out of 2165 registered voters reported in June, approximately 25.4%.

Eighth Ward

• Total votes: 525
• Sharon Owens — 342 — 65.14%
• Thomas Babilon — 120 — 22.86%
• Tim Rudd — 21 — 4.00%
• Alfonso Davis — 17 — 3.24%
• Write-ins — 25 — 4.76%

Syracuse’s Eighth Ward saw about a 20.3% voter turnout with 525 out of 2,588 registered voters in June. The Eighth Ward includes the eastern and southeastern edge of Syracuse, including residential areas like the Meadowbrook and Outer Eastside neighborhoods.

Ninth Ward

• Total votes: 496
• Sharon Owens — 394 — 79.44%
• Thomas Babilon — 70 — 14.11%
• Tim Rudd — 8 — 1.61%
• Alfonso Davis — 21 — 4.23%
• Write-ins — 3 — 0.60%

The Ninth Ward, which covers the southernmost tip of the city limits, including the South Valley and Outer Comstock neighborhoods, saw a voter turnout of 496 out of 2,696 registered voters in June — about 18.4%.

10th Ward

• Total votes: 213
• Sharon Owens — 174 — 81.69%
• Thomas Babilon — 18 — 8.45%
• Tim Rudd — 4 — 1.88%
• Alfonso Davis — 17 — 7.98%
• Write-ins — 0 — 0.00%

In the 10th ward, only about 12% of June registered voters showed up to the polls — 213 out of 1,755. The 10th ward includes neighborhoods on the far West Side, including Strathmore and Onondaga Hill.

11th Ward

• Total votes: 1,084
• Sharon Owens — 747 — 68.91%
• Thomas Babilon — 236 — 21.77%
• Tim Rudd — 51 — 4.70%
• Alfonso Davis — 33 — 3.04%
• Write-ins — 17 — 1.57%

The 11th Ward, which makes up the northwestern neighborhoods of Tipperary Hill and Lakefront, saw a voter turnout just shy of 31% of registered voters reported in June.

12th Ward

• Total votes: 791
• Sharon Owens — 597 — 75.47%
• Thomas Babilon — 117 — 14.79%
• Tim Rudd — 28 — 3.54%
• Alfonso Davis — 39 — 4.93%
• Write-ins — 10 — 1.26%

The 12th Ward saw a turnout of 791 of its 2,735 enrolled voters — about 29%. The 12th Ward covers parts of Inner Harbor, Washington Square and the Far Westside.

13th Ward

• Total votes: 1,592
• Sharon Owens — 1,133 — 71.17%
• Thomas Babilon — 261 — 16.39%
• Tim Rudd — 80 — 5.03%
• Alfonso Davis — 108 — 6.78%
• Write-ins — 10 — 0.63%

About 28.6% of enrolled voters in June turned out from Syracuse’s 13th Ward, which includes parts of the Lincoln Hill, Northside and Washington Square neighborhoods.

14th Ward

• Total votes: 1,824
• Sharon Owens — 1,371 — 75.16%
• Thomas Babilon — 319 — 17.49%
• Tim Rudd — 57 — 3.13%
• Alfonso Davis — 75 — 4.11%
• Write-ins — 2 — 0.11%

In the 14th Ward, 26.7% of its enrolled voters from June showed. The 14th ward includes parts of the Sedgwick and Eastwood neighborhoods

15th Ward

• Total votes: 189
• Sharon Owens — 151 — 79.89%
• Thomas Babilon — 17 — 8.99%
• Tim Rudd — 3 — 1.59%
• Alfonso Davis — 18 — 9.52%
• Write-ins — 0 — 0.00%

The 15th Ward had a voter turnout of around 15% — 189 out of 1244 enrolled voters as of June.

The 15th Ward is a historically Black area that includes the city’s Southside and Downtown neighborhoods. The area, which voted almost 80% for Owens, was central to many candidates’ platforms amid a lead crisis and changes during the I-81 viaduct project.

16th Ward

• Total votes: 473
• Sharon Owens — 422 — 89.22%
• Thomas Babilon — 37 — 7.82%
• Tim Rudd — 7 — 1.48%
• Alfonso Davis — 7 — 1.48%

About 17.6% of enrolled voters in June voted in the 16th Ward, which includes Syracuse University, SUNY ESF and student housing areas. The area voted overwhelmingly in favor of Owens — where the deputy mayor took 89% of the vote. About 60% of voters in the 16th Ward were reported to be Democrats in June.

17th Ward

• Total votes: 3,431
• Sharon Owens — 2,940 — 85.69%
• Thomas Babilon — 314 — 9.15%
• Tim Rudd — 59 — 1.72%
• Alfonso Davis — 107 — 3.12%
• Write-ins — 11 — 0.32%

About 37% of enrolled voters reported in June in the 17th Ward cast their ballots on Election Day. The ward with the largest voter registration covers the Outer Comstock and Meadowbrook neighborhoods.

18th Ward

• Total votes: 185
• Sharon Owens — 158 — 85.41%
• Thomas Babilon — 3 — 1.62%
• Tim Rudd — 3 — 1.62%
• Alfonso Davis — 21 — 11.35%

With a voter turnout of about 13.6%, 185 of 1,362 registered voters recorded in June voted in Syracuse’s 18th Ward. The area covers the Southside, Midland and Elmwood neighborhoods.

19th Ward

• Total votes: 1,269
• Sharon Owens — 1,086 — 85.58%
• Thomas Babilon — 105 — 8.27%
• Tim Rudd — 27 — 2.13%
• Alfonso Davis — 50 — 3.94%
• Write-ins — 1 — 0.08%

In Syracuse’s 19th Ward, 27.3% of registered voters reported in June turned out at the polls. The 19th Ward, which covers the Brighton and South Valley neighborhoods.

Owens will start her position as the next mayor of Syracuse on Jan. 1.

Published on November 6, 2025 at 2:19 am
Contact Brenne: bsheeh03@syr.edu