Early voting is a hit, especially among Democrats.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, 70,016 Erie County residents had voted early at the county's 37 polling sites.
That's 11.1% of the county's nearly 630,000 registered voters who showed up in person during the first four days of early voting. Some 431,537 Erie County residents voted in the 2016 presidential race.
County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Wednesday the percentage of early voters this year is even higher when you factor in mail-in ballots.
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As of Oct. 20, nearly 94,000 mail ballots had been issued in Erie County and more than 51,000 had been returned.
"I do know that there are tens of thousands of mail-in ballots that have been received back by the Board of Elections, such that it's really around 20% of all Erie County voters who have voted either through early voting, or through mail-in ballots," he said.
Board of Elections spokesman Derek Murphy said 40,360 of the walk-up early votes were cast by registered Democrats, while only 15,187 came from Republicans. The remainder were cast by independents or members of minor parties.
The 2.6-to-1 blue turnout margin so far magnifies the county's baked-in Democratic registration advantage. There are about 1.9 Democrats in Erie County for every Republican: 296,000 Democrats to 158,000 Republicans.
"I think we expected a lot of energy this year," Murphy said. But he said election officials are surprised that the early turnout has remained strong even on weekdays.
"We thought there might be a trail-off, but it's picked up," Murphy said.
Erie County recorded 21,142 votes Tuesday, compared to about 15,000 on Saturday, 13,000 on Sunday and 21,000 on Monday.
One explanation might be longer hours: the 37 sites are open from noon to 9 p.m. weekdays, but only from noon to 6 p.m. on weekends.
Unlike most counties, Erie County offers one early voting site in every city or town, except in Buffalo, where there is one site in every Common Council district. The full list of sites is available at elections.erie.gov/Early-Voting.
Murphy said Amherst, Cheektowaga and West Seneca seem to have the busiest polling locations so far.
"Despite the lines, we're moving it along," Murphy said. "We're very proud of the way we've handled this with the same resources we had last year."
In 2019, the county recorded 26,514 votes during the nine days of early voting. But of course, there was no presidential election and no pandemic last year.
"People in line have been really respectful of each other," Murphy said. "There's a feeling that people are excited to have their voice be heard."
Poloncarz also said that if anyone is in isolation due to Covid-19, they are still able to vote. Those individuals would need to download an absentee ballot application from the Board of Elections website, fill it out and have someone return it to the board by 5 p.m. Monday, and then have the ballot returned or postmarked no later than Tuesday. For Erie County, the Board of Elections is located at 134 W. Eagle St., Buffalo. Call your local Board of Elections for more information.
"Just like any individual who may have suffered an illness but can't vote on Election Day, you can get an absentee ballot," he said.
In Niagara County, which offers only two early voting sites, 9,841 votes had been cast as of 11 a.m. Wednesday, said Jennifer A. Sandonato, GOP election commissioner. That's about 7% of the county's total voter registration.
Voters wait in line for early voting at the St. Charles Borromeo Center in Niagara Falls, one of only two early voting polling places in Niagara County.
"I would say it's more than any of us had expected," Sandonato said.
Democrats have a nearly 2-1 edge in Niagara County, too: 5,062 votes were cast by Democrats to 2,659 for Republicans. The remainder were independents or minor-party enrollees.
Overall, Niagara County is closely balanced: 51,000 Democrats to 46,000 Republicans.
Niagara County sites are open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
They are located in the Cornell Cooperative Extension building at the County Fairgrounds, 4487 Lake Ave., Lockport; and in the St. John de LaSalle Center, 8469 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls.
Statewide, 712,915 New Yorkers had cast early ballots through Sunday, according to the University of Florida's U.S. Elections Project. The state did not report a breakdown by party.
