Nearly 30,000 NNY voters cast early ballots

Nov. 4—WATERTOWN — More than 29,000 north country voters have already cast their ballots. That's nearly 20% of the eligible voters in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and a substantial increase over the 2020 presidential election when 13,081 people cast their votes early, either in person or by mail, before Election Day.

The polls were open from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3, and in that time 29,091 people voted in the north country, while the state Board of Elections reports that 2,985,181 ballots were cast early in all of New York.

According to the state Board of Elections, as of Jan. 3, 2023, there were 64,366 total registered voters in Jefferson County, 64,213 in St. Lawrence County and 19,283 in Lewis County.

In Jefferson County, 13,055 ballots were cast early.

Of those, 9,344 were cast in person, while the Board of Elections received 3,711 absentee and early vote by mail ballots. In 2020 there were 5,150 early votes in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Democratic Elections Commissioner Michelle LaFave said that the board of elections received fewer mail-in votes than in 2020 because the country was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that year.

In St. Lawrence County, 11,804 early ballots were cast.

Of the 11,804 early votes, 4,215 of the ballots received were absentee and early vote by mail.

Similar to Jefferson County, there were more mail-in votes in 2020 because of the pandemic in St. Lawrence County. In 2020 5,113 early ballots were cast in St. Lawrence County.

In Lewis County, 4,232 total people cast their ballot early with 746 people casting their ballot through early vote by mail and absentee ballots.

In 2020, there were 2,818 early voters in Lewis County.

Those still looking to submit an absentee or vote by mail ballot must have them postmarked by today.

Election Day polls in New York close at 9 p.m. Tuesday.