VESTAL, NY (WSKG) — It’s election day, but many New Yorkers cast their ballot before the polls even opened for the state’s first ever go at early voting.
Paula Schermerhorn, Democratic Deputy Commissioner in Delaware County, speculates that early voting might have motivated more people to participate.
In Delaware county, 386 people voted early.
"I was looking at the people that voted early that also voted in 2017’s election and there was 262," Schermerhorn said. "So, we had a 124 brand new voters that came and voted early this year."
2017 was also an off-year election.
Polling places for early voting were different than the sites for election day. The 386 early voters in Delaware had to go to the Board of Elections office in Delhi to cast their ballots.
Schermerhorn said that although nothing is final, they’re considering adding another location.
"Because we’re such a big county, we are in the middle and we’re the county seat," she explained. "But still, it might be convenient to have one in Walton as well for that other half of the county."
According to Schermerhorn, the furthest any person travelled to vote early in Delaware County was a nearly 45 minute drive from Tompkins.
For voters who waited until election day to vote: polls close in New York at 9 P.M. and in Pennsylvania at 8 P.M.