ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Elections officials across New York state are bracing for high turnout on Election Day.

What You Need To Know

  • Based on the numbers, elections officials say turnout is expected to be high for election day 2024, even though thousands of people have already cast their ballots

  • As long as you are in line by 9 p.m., you will be allowed to vote

  • Officials say it could take longer to announce returns if there are lines at the polls when they close

With the huge showing in the early election process, what does that mean for Election Day turnout and the processing of returns? Based on the numbers, elections officials say turnout is expected to be high for Election Day, even though thousands of people already cast their ballots. Because of that, it may just take a bit longer to find out the results.

“So polls close at 9 p.m. across the state on election night," said New York state Board of Elections Director of Public Information Kathleen McGrath. "At that point, the county boards from across the state will begin processing and uploading their results to their own websites and then also transmitting them to the state board for aggregation. They continue to do that as more of their poll sites and election districts close."

She says as long as you are in line by 9 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.

“People start thinking about the election after election night and want results right away," McGrath said. "But we will never sacrifice accuracy to provide results quicker. So there is a process in place that involves the canvass and the recanvass and any recounts that may need to occur if the margin of victory is quite close, and those procedures are all in place in election law. The county boards know how to do that in their bipartisan teams.”

The Monroe County Board of Elections commissioners say results could start to come in a bit later than in previous years if there are lines when the polls close.

Republican Commissioner Lisa Nicolay explains the results we will see in the first release.

“It's going to have all of early voting, all of mail-in ballots, and the first set of the day’s numbers that come to us," Nicolay said.

She and Democratic Commissioner Jackie Ortiz say they are prepared and offer advice to voters.

“We want to make sure that everyone has a positive experience," Ortiz said. "And that we as people, that no matter where you fall, in regards to your choices, is that you keep that to yourself, right? They're anonymous ballots for a reason. And we all have different political philosophies on things. And so we ask you please to kind of get in and get out and make sure that, in the end, we're all just looking at the results here and move forward as one unit thereafter.”

And McGrath says, for New York state, accuracy is the priority.

“There’s constant work being done," McGrath said. "And those results will come out as soon as they're complete. There's no joy in withholding them. We just want to make sure they're accurate.”