Primary election expands absentee ballot utilization

FINGER LAKES--The board of elections for both Yates County and Schuyler County have yet to release the results from the Tuesday, June 23 Democratic primary as the majority of votes cast were absentee ballots. Unlike elections where most of the ballots are cast in person, elections with absentee ballots have different requirements to be certified resulting in a longer delay for totals.
"If we receive authorization from the New York State Legislature and Gov. Cuomo for listing fear of contracting COVID-19 as a reason to cast an absentee ballot for the presidential election in November, there will be a similar delay in results as well," said Robert Schwarting, Republican board of election commissioner for Yates County.
Schwarting, who added absentee ballots will not be counted until July 1, said the November election is slated to take place under the same restrictions for absentee ballots that existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The fear of contracting COVID-19 being considered a valid reason for obtaining an absentee ballot expires at the end of June," Schwarting stated.
In Yates County, roughly 100 people voted in person at locations including the county building and a Starkey location, while roughly 800 people cast absentee ballots. In Schuyler County, 457 people voted in person, while 698 Schuyler residents utilized absentee ballots.
"We used absentee ballots to the maximum extent possible, and we saved a bundle of money this year by using on-demand printers instead of purchasing ballots in bulk," Schwarting said.
At polling locations, Schwarting mentioned social distancing was enforced, as was wearing a mask along with special protocols for election inspectors.
"Everything went without a hitch, all the new technology operated as expected," Schwarting said.
As a result, Schwarting said he is confident that Yates County has the ability to scale up the absentee ballot process for the November presidential election should the state authorize it.
Absentee ballots for Schuyler County will also be counted on Wednesday and will include the Republican primary for the town of Orange and the Democratic presidential primary. While holding two elections at the same time is unusual, Schuyler County election officials say it was unavoidable this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As to whether Schuyler County could handle scaling up the absentee election process if authorized to do so for November, officials said only election commissioners could answer that.
Schuyler County Board of Election Commissioners Joseph Fazzary and Carolyn Elkins did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.