Saturday was the first day of early voting for the June 22 primary election, but the scene bore little resemblance to those at early voting sites last year.
In 2020, 25.4% of Erie County registered voters – almost 168,000 people – took advantage of the nine early voting days before the presidential election. This year, with only local offices on the line, the numbers are dramatically smaller.
Erie County Board of Elections commissioners Ralph M. Mohr and Jeremy J. Zellner announced after the polls closed at 6 p.m. Saturday that just 904 voters cast first-day ballots.
Lines, which last year were long and common, were rare and short at the polling places The Buffalo News visited Saturday.
"I don’t know what kind of response we’re going to get. Primaries just don’t get a lot of people," said Lew James of Clarence Center, who was one of the few voters at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Clarence at midafternoon.
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“It’s easy but I think there should be more people out here. They should be out here voting because it’s important," said Margo Warr of Buffalo, who voted at the Delavan Grider Community Center.
“I wanted to make certain that nothing came up at the last minute and I didn’t get my vote in," said Adrienne Funderburk, who voted at the Amherst Senior Center.
In the June 2020 primary, which combined local offices, a presidential primary and a special election in the 27th Congressional District, about 3,600 people voted early in Erie County.
But this is the first time early voting has been tried for a primary in an odd-numbered year, in which federal and state offices are not on the ballot.
"It's an unknown situation, because we've never been in this cycle with early voting," said Jeremy Zellner, Democratic election commissioner in Erie County.
The civic group VOICE Buffalo tried to spur turnout with a "Souls to the Polls" block party outside the Delavan Grider Community Center.
Margaret Godson of Buffalo was among those lured in by the event, although she already knew Saturday was a voting day.
“Every day I take a walk. I didn’t even know this was going on and this is what stopped me," Godson said. "I heard music and I saw tables and people out, and saw all the signs and I said, ‘I’m going to vote.’ ”
This year, the featured races in Erie County are primaries for sheriff in both the Republican and Democratic parties, and a Democratic contest for mayor of Buffalo.
Buffalo Democrats also can weigh in on a primary for City Court judge. Hamburg has a Democratic primary for supervisor, and there's a GOP supervisor contest in Alden.
“I hope the Erie County sheriff’s race brings out a lot of people, because we’ve been under the supremacy of Tim Howard for far too long," Tanvier Peart of Buffalo said.
In Niagara County, the main event is a County Court judge primary in all four parties, including Conservative and Working Families as well as the majors. Niagara Falls also boasts a hotly contested four-party primary for City Court judge.
Both counties have kept their early voting formats from last year. Erie County offers 37 sites: one in each Buffalo Common Council district plus the Board of Elections' main office, and one site in all other towns and cities.
"It's yet to be seen how many people are going to take advantage of it," Zellner said. "I'm optimistic, because of the 37 sites. We have the most inclusive early voting program in the state. I think we're going to have a good turnout, but I do not know for a fact."
Niagara County offers only two sites: St. John De LaSalle Center, 8469 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls, and the Cornell Cooperative Extension at the county fairgrounds, 4487 Lake Ave., Lockport.
Registered voters may cast ballots at any early voting site in their county, regardless of whether they live in that city or town.
A polling machine on the first day of voting at the Delavan Grider Community Center June 12, 2021.
Early voting will continue every day through June 20. In Erie County, voting hours are noon to 6 p.m. on weekends and noon to 9 p.m. on weekdays.
In Niagara County, early voting hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends; noon to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday; and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Unlike last year, when absentee ballot applications were mailed to every registered voter in the state as a pandemic-fighting measure, this year the state has restored the regular system of making voters seek absentee ballots.
"It's no-excuse absentee, and anyone can go to our website, elections.erie.gov, and apply at our portal," Zellner said. "It's been slow, but steady."
Several minor parties no longer have a line on the ballot, although county boards of elections are still required to keep track of who belonged to them. Any party that couldn't muster at least 130,000 votes or 2% of the statewide total for president last year was knocked off the ballot.
