Senate Chair of Elections Zellnor Y. Myrie Applauds Successful Rollout of Early Voting, Looks ahead to Early Voting Senate Hearing on November 20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 4, 2019

Senate Chair of Elections Zellnor Y. Myrie Applauds Successful Rollout of Early Voting, Looks ahead to Early Voting Senate Hearing on November 20

ALBANY, N.Y. (November 4, 2019) – On January 14th, Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie introduced and the legislature passed the first bill of the 2019 legislative session: Early Voting. On November 3rd, the state saw that legislation put into action as it successfully implemented New York’s first ever period of early voting. 

"We were pleased to see that the rollout of early voting was a resounding success,” said Elections Chair Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie. “More than 256,000 people voted across the state and reports of the experience were overwhelmingly positive. It’s clear that we are making our democracy more accessible than ever. Voting is the right that protects all other rights, and early voting helps ensure that everyone, regardless of their schedule constraints, has the opportunity to make their voice heard at the ballot box.” 

Senator Myrie voted at his poll site, Clara Barton High School in Crown Heights, as soon as the polls opened on Saturday, October 26th. Photos from his experience voting and visiting with poll workers can be found here. 

On November 20th, Senator Myrie will chair a Senate Hearing on the implementation of Early Voting, which will offer the opportunity to discuss potential improvements to the process.  

The Early Voting Period started Saturday, October 26th and ran through Sunday, November 3rd. During the first weekend unofficial results show over 50,000 people voted. 

A daily average of slightly more than 26,500 people voted early during the early voting period. New York City averaged about 6,700 voters per day and unofficial turnout was just over 1 percent. Outside of New York City, unofficial turnout was approximately 2.4 percent. 

The final Sunday was a big day for turnout. Albany (795), Dutchess (1,215), Monroe (2,033), Nassau (5,426), Onondaga (1,586), Orange (984), Rockland (1,394) Suffolk (3,079), Ulster (1,146) and Westchester (4,158) counties and New York City (12,103), all saw their highest totals of the nine days. 

The fifty-eight (58) County Boards of Elections opened a total of two-hundred forty-eight (248) early voting sites. 

In 2020, there will be 27 days of early voting overall, nine each for the Presidential Primary, April 28, the State & Federal Primary, June 23, and the General Election, November 3.

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