ERIE COUNTY, N.Y (WIVB) — Thousands of Western New Yorkers are preparing to head out to polls and vote in this year’s election.
Across the state, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Unlike early voting where people were able to go to any location in their county, on Election Day, voters must go to their designated polling place.
“We had a tremendous turn out for early voting, and everyone was extremely respectful of one another – they wore masks, they stayed socially distant. That’s what we need tomorrow,” said Erie County Democratic Election Commissioner Jeremy Zellner.
People cannot campaign within 100 feet of a polling location – that includes wearing anything like a button, a t-shirt, or a hat that supports the candidates. Zellner says if early voting was any indication for how Tuesday will go, he’s confident people will be respectful and the day will go smoothly.
“We’ll have results from early voting before we start putting up election day results. And we’ll have the Election Day results up on the website tomorrow night as well. But we’re not going to start counting our absentees for 13 days, we’ve got to make sure those military ballots come in, we’ve got to make sure no one voted in person and pull any absentees for those who did.”
Because we might not go to sleep knowing who won the presidential election, state and local leaders are calling on people to remain calm.
“I understand the emotion. You can demonstrate, but demonstrate peacefully,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo.
For information on how to find your polling place, click here.
Marlee Tuskes is a reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2019. See more of her work here.
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