On Wednesday in Albany, about a dozen poll workers gathered at the county board of elections to learn about how voting is changing in New York.
"For the past couple of months we've been working very, very hard along with inspectors to roll out a whole new system that essentially modernizes our election system in New York state and Albany County as well," said Rachel Bledi, (R) Albany County Board of Elections commissioner.
Bledi says the efforts underway are meant to get accustomed to electronic poll books as well as the early voting — which is set to begin October 26 and last over nine days.
"Election Day, when it rolls around, rolls around seamlessly. Voters can come in and have a positive voting experience," Bledi said.
But early voting won't be like voting on Election Day. County boards will be operating a handful of different polling sites at different hours. For information, check the website of your local county board of elections.
"I think a lot of voters, much like we are, are still trying to determine how it's going to work. We've gotten a head start in that and we're prepared to roll out a whole new system," Bledi said.
The League of Women Voters is also operating a website for voters to check where they can vote early. Legislative Director Jennifer Wilson says the hope is early voting boosts turnout.
"We hope that will be the case. I'm not necessarily counting on it to be the case, I think we'll really see that huge increase in turnout when we have all these big races going on," Wilson said.
But the first year is being rolled out in a local election year. Typically turnout is higher in a presidential election year, scheduled for next year.
"The league had actually recommended we do this in an off-election year so the counties have time to figure out what was working, what wasn't working," Wilson said.
Again, early voting begins October 26 and runs for nine days. To find out where and when to vote early, check your local board of elections website or the League of Women Voters website. Election Day itself is on November 5.