Early voting begins this Saturday across New York state. What can you expect when you go to the polls?

Right out of the gate, the prediction from some election officials is that there could be some lines and crowds when the polls open Saturday at 9 a.m.

What You Need To Know

  • Early voting begins across New York state on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 9 a.m.

  • More early polling sites will be open due to anticipated crowds and lines on opening day of early voting

  • The 2024 General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.  

“I do expect with all of the attention and all of the interest and excitement around, the presidential election, that at least on the first day, I do anticipate that we will have lines," said Monroe County Board of Elections Commissioner Jackie Ortiz. "We have tried to anticipate some of that and increase the number of early voting sites,” Ortiz said.

She says the county now has 17 locations for early voting because of the anticipated increase in the number of early voters. Her team at the BOE is preparing the poll pads that will be delivered to each of the polling locations. The workers are also checking the voting machines and preparing those for delivery.

Early voting began in New York state in 2019. A new law went into effect 2022 called the “Making Voting Easy Act,” which increased the number of early voting sites and expanded weekend early voting hours. 

Because of this, county boards have increased their early voting operations in the two and a half years since. 

Ortiz says the Monroe County BOE is in communication with its counterparts around the state.

“This year, particularly because of all the interest around this, we've had several cybersecurity and physical threat-type workshops that we've done with the county," she said. "And our colleagues around the state and have had different workshops that we've had to attend this year.”

Ortiz says the boards across the state have regular calls and stay in communication with their colleagues and the State Board. She says the state continually forwards guidance, communication and information regarding processes and other important items.

Ortiz says you can visit the county’s website to check the status of your ballot and to get your questions answered, such as where the polling places are located. She asks voters to please be patient.  

The New York State Board of Elections says in 2024 it is expecting 438 early voting poll sites to be used for the general election.

Early voting ends on Nov. 3 and the general election takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 5.