The 2026 general election started with early voting on Oct. 24, and the elections commissioners at the Onondaga County Board of Elections say central New Yorkers took advantage of it.
On Sunday, Nov. 1 in Onondaga County, the board of elections reported 5,948 check-ins, bringing the 9-day total for early voting in Onondaga County to 58,418.
"I think the public response to early voting has been very good, very robust. We're seeing turnout levels that approach what we typically get in a presidential year," said Kevin Ryan, Republican elections commissioner.
That data tells Ryan that early voting is catching on with the voting public and that the voters this year are particularly engaged in the election.
Democratic elections commissioner Dustin Czarny describes the turnout for early voting as "amazing."
"We have well over double the 2022 projections, which was the last gubernatorial election," Czarny said.
Czarny went on to say, "More people are getting used to early voting. They know where the sites are. They like it. We're going to rival the presidential level in '24, which is unheard of."
In addition, the turnout beat the 2020 presidential levels, Czarny noted. Elections officials are seeing it grow as an option. It's a bigger part of the electorate.
Statewide, more than 1.7 million people cast ballots during the early voting period, according to the New Yor State Board of Elections.
Now, whether this will mean more people will have voted this year, officials won't know that until the end of Election Day, Czarny added.
Voters sat down with ballots that included races for governor, attorney general, New York State Assembly, New York State Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and in Onondaga County, a term-limits question on the office of the Onondaga County executive.
Plus, if voters in central New York are like those across the country, they're likely thinking about the high prices at their grocery store and gas station as well.
The polls are closed on Monday but reopen for Election Day on Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
