According to the report submitted by Lorie Longhany and Richard Siebert, Democratic and Republican commissioners, respectively:
“With our county judge, district attorney and six legislative seats on the ballot without opposition, it is difficult to achieve voter enthusiasm. There will be some contested races in the City of Batavia (Council at Large) and several of our towns but certainly not countywide.”
Siebert predicts that early voting -- as was the case in June’s primary elections when only six residents voted prior to election day – will not generate much activity.
“Without real opposition and gas prices the way they are, realistically, who’s going to come from Le Roy, who’s going to come from Darien for early voting? It’s just not going to happen,” he said.
Early voting for the Nov. 2 General Election will take place at the ARC Community Center, 38 Woodrow Rd., Batavia, starting on Saturday, Oct. 23.
Dates and times are as follows:
- Oct. 23-24, noon to 5 p.m.
- Oct. 25, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Oct. 26-27, noon to 8 p.m.
- Oct. 28-29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Oct. 30-31, noon to 5 p.m.
Longhany said that for early voting “the even years are going to be the trouble years, (and) odd years are going to be the easy years.”
Siebert agreed, noting that parking at the ARC location is limited.
Currently, they are looking for another site in the city for 2022 early voting, while advising the committee that they are “aware of legislation which may require our early voting to expand from nine days to 15 days – which we could take advantage of during presidential elections but not local ones as we experienced this past June.”
Longhany said training has been completed for more than 200 poll workers, who will be subject to following the county’s COVID-19 protocol that calls for mask wearing unless proof of vaccination is provided. She said the workers are “very loyal” while Siebert added that they are well paid, receiving $290 for the full election day.
Siebert reported no safety or health issues in June, but acknowledged that the process was “tough for all of us.”
“Everything we do at the Board of Elections is very cyclical,” he said. “Last year we had a presidential election with 75 percent of the vote coming out. It was tough. We had to protect our workers, we had to protect our voters (while abiding by COVID-19 restrictions). We got through it.”
Another issue moving forward, Longhany said, is that the county’s number of permanent absentee voters has increased from 500 to 1,100, which – with the change to “no excuse” absentee ballots -- will create more work for their office.
Key dates for registration are as follows:
- Oct. 8, Mail Registration for General: Last day to postmark application for general election; it must also be received by board of elections by Oct. 13.
- Oct. 8, In-person registration for General: Last day application must be received by board of elections to be eligible to vote in general election. If honorably discharged from the military or have become a naturalized citizen since Oct. 8, you may register in person at the board of elections up until Oct. 23.
- Oct. 13, Changes of address for General received by this date must be processed.
CLICK HERE for a list of county races and candidates.
