New York ‘s first early voting period ended over the weekend, and voters in Monroe County were among thousands to cast their ballot before Tuesday’s general election. The early voting began Oct. 26 and continued through Sunday, Nov. 3.
Among the local voters was Terrance Schmitz of Rochester. Schmitz says he would not have been able to vote this year without the early option.
“I’m excited that it was offered because I’m going out of town tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. and I won’t be back until Wednesday evening. So as a person who resides in the city, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to vote," says Schmitz.
A total of seven polling centers were available at select times for voters in Monroe County.
Schmitz adds that having more polling sites would have been better for early voting.
Voter Eric Nguyen, says he's happy to place his ballot before Tuesday, and will likley choose to vote early again in the next election.
"Early voting is the best voting,"says Nguyen.
According to the early voting numbers from the Monroe County Board of Elections, nearly 14,000 people have voted in advance. Penfield had the highest turnout among the early voting sites in the county, the MCC Downtown campus had the lowest.
Those who have missed the early window, will have to wait until Tuesday to cast their ballot. Voting on that day runs from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. WXXI will have live election coverage starting at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday.