ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — Early voting kicked off in New York State Saturday morning and according to the Erie County Board of Elections (ECBOE), thousands turned out.
4,157 ballots were cast on the first day in Erie County, down from roughly 8,500 last year. Other counties in Western New York did not publicize their early voting turnout. In total, there are 652 individual races in the 8 counties of WNY.
Chautauqua County alone has 160 different races this year.
While there are hundreds of races across the eight counties of Western New York, the ones gaining the most attention are the race for Erie County Executive, Niagara Falls Mayor, and Lockport Mayor.
Jeremy Zellner, Democratic Commissioner for the ECBOE, says the county has the most expansive early voting program in the state. Erie County has 38 early polling stations. You can find the full list here.
"I think anytime you can remove barriers from people's ability to cast a ballot is a good thing," Zellner said.
In total, there are 53 early polling sites across the eight counties of Western New York. Early voting started in NYS in 2019 but gained popularity during the pandemic.
"It's a great way for folks to go and get their voting done early," Zellner said.
The deadline to register to vote was 5 P.M. Saturday, so if you haven't registered to vote yet, you'll be unable to do so this year. If you're unsure whether you registered to vote or not, you can double-check on the state's voter registry.
Early voting will continue through Sunday, November 5.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 7.