More than 32,000 people cast their ballots during early voting in Onondaga County.
Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny said that is quadruple the 2021 and 2019 numbers. He said people like the convenience of early voting and are getting used to the process.
"I think the most important thing that I took away is that our ten sites were able to handle this large amount of voters without any lines,” he said. “People were able to walk right in, get a ballot, vote, and walk right out within five to ten minutes."
The Board of Elections added four extra sites this year, and Czarny said this is the fourth year poll workers are using the current equipment, so they’re becoming more comfortable with it.
Democrats made up about 47% of early voters, while Republicans made up about 27%.
“The national conversation with the Republican party has been to demonize early voting, demonize absentees, and that’s still playing out, but it’s less and less,” Czarny said.
Czarny said the early voter turnout this year is 53% lower than 2020, but that was the biggest turnout for a presidential election since 1919.
Looking ahead, the Board of Elections is expecting a busy election day. Czarny said the 10,001 absentee ballots that came in by the deadline will be counted and recorded with election night results. And while he doesn’t expect lines to be really long at the polls, he’s asking voters to please be patient.
"What we're hearing is incredible interest in these elections, but we have 149 polling places. They're pretty well suited. They have the new technology in them, so I do think we'll be able to handle the lines," he said.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day.
For more information on who is on the ballot in your county, check our online voter guide.
