BUFFALO, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed new legislation that makes it easier to establish early voting sites for certain elections.
Instead of just using population, sites will now open based on where the most eligible voters are. This applies to special, primary and run-off primary elections.
Previously, people may have had to drive to a spot outside their district to vote early.
"New Yorkers should have access to early voting in the places where they live, and the law required county boards of elections to put early voting sites during special elections in places where there weren't actually eligible voters," Governor Cuomo said in a statement Friday.
"This legislation implements a quick and commonsense fix to the law so that New Yorkers who want to vote early have a convenient polling place to do so, not a far-off location they won't have time to reach.
"We're committed to making voting as easy as possible and giving New Yorkers ample opportunities to vote in ways convenient to them, and this law moves us in the right direction to further expanding voting access and making sure everyone can participate in our democracy."
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