Saturday was the first day of early voting in New York, and signs point to a decent turnout across the state.

In a long, contentious election season, some voters like Kari Avramov simply expressed relief that thanks to early voting, the deed is done.

“I think early voting is fantastic,” she said. “I’m glad to have cast my vote early, this election especially, so I can be done with it.”

We saw long lines across the state, especially in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.

“It’s cold out here and it’s windy, a little uncomfortable, but it moved along pretty quickly,” said John Mandujano of Syracuse.

Avramov said she sees the lines as a positive, agreeing that the line was moving, and the wait was worth it.

“It’s impressive to me to see how many people are in line, I think it’s fantastic,” she said. “All citizens should be exercising their right to vote, it’s one of the most important rights that we have”

Several voters told Spectrum News 1 that they appreciated the convenience of being able to cast their ballot early. Isabella Avramov noted the benefit for college students like herself who might otherwise have trouble voting in person.

“To be able to can come down from school and vote in my county without having to go through absentee ballot stuff is really nice, really helpful,” she said.

Another voter in Buffalo noted that getting her vote cast early gives her peace of mind when all is said and done.

“You feel good because once the results come out, you’re going to know that you participated in that and you helped elect that person in, you don’t want to regret,” she said. “Say the person you didn’t want to win wins, you don’t want to feel like 'oh maybe I could have been that one deciding vote.'”

Early voting continues through Sunday, Nov. 3, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.