BUFFALO, N.Y. - While millions of people around the country now have access to the polls for no-excuse early voting, people here will have to wait a couple of weeks until Election Day.
New York is one of just 13 states in the country not to offer early voting.
"It's extremely frustrating," said Jennifer Wilson with the League of Women Voters, which has advocated for early voting legislation for years.
New York State does allow absentee voting, but that's only for people who meet certain criteria:
- Will be out of the county on Election Day
- Can't vote at the polls due to illness or disability (or is the primary care given of someone who has illness or disability)
- Is a resident or patient at a V.A. hospital
- Is in jail pre-trial or behind bars for a non-felony conviction
Early voting, on the other hand, does not require an excuse. Each state with early voting has a different system. Some open limited polling stations for several weeks, while others have early voting for shorter periods of time. Poll hours and locations also vary.
Wilson said any early voting system would improve access for New Yorkers, especially those who have a tough time making it to the polls on Election Day.
"Single parents, people who work really weird hours like nurses or firefighters or police, basically anyone who is busy," Wilson explained. "Giving voters more of an opportunity to cast their ballot, I mean it's nothing but a benefit for our democracy."
Wilson said some opponents have brought up the cost as a concern, even though an estimate from Governor Andrew Cuomo's office showed 12 days of early voting would only cost the state about $7 million. Cuomo included such a provision in his budget proposal, but it did not make it into the final agreement.
"He (Cuomo) basically de-funded early voting by not including it in the New York State budget," said Sam Seder, the progressive host of The Majority Report, an internet talk radio show and podcast.
Other critics have pointed the finger at Republicans in the state legislature. While the Assembly has passed several early voting bills, the GOP leadership in the Senate has not allowed the measures to advance.
Wilson said the League of Women Voters and dozens of other pro-early voting groups will continue to lobby lawmakers to change the law once the new legislature is convened this January.
"Unfortunately we just haven't seen it past the finish line yet," Wilson said. "But we are getting closer and closer every year."