Early voting moving to North Elba

ELIZABETHTOWN | Essex County's early voting center will move from Lewis to North Elba this year, a shift that, depending on where the voter lives, is either good news or bad. The early-voting poll was located in Lewis due to its central location, but under new state law, early voting has to be entertained at the town with the greatest population, Republican Election Commissioner Allison McGahay told county supervisors at a December meeting. That makes it easier for voters in Lake Placid, but not for residents that live in the southern part of the county who would see between a half hour and an hour added to their round trip to the polls. In the November election, 2,518 people went to Lewis to cast their ballots in the nine days leading up to Election Day. That number was driven both by intense interest in the presidential race, and by concerns over potential postal service delays or mishaps. But there will likely be strong interest in early voting in 2021 as well. "This year, Essex, like most counties, will have a significant number of local elections," said Democratic Election Commissioner Sue Montgomery Corey in an email. "Although local elections don't typically attract the same level of attention as a presidential year (which 2020 was), I believe that there will be interest in the local elections and we may see more primary challenges than in prior cycles because of increased voter registrations and the increased attention paid this year to the importance of our right to vote." New York residents were allowed to vote by mail in November, and in Essex County more than 4,000 voters did just that. But it required a Covid-related waiver that is not available in a typical year, when voters can only vote absentee with a state-approved excuse. That could change, but the change won't come quickly. Montgomery Corey said she supports no-excuse voting law that she hopes will be passed in the legislature this year. But it will take a constitutional amendment so that will require a couple of rounds of approval in the legislature before it can go to the voters. Meantime, she hopes the county can add a second early voting site in the southern part of the county. Such a proposal is likely to be discussed by the elections board in the coming weeks, she said. At the supervisor's meeting, McGahay said an exact location for early voting in North Elba had yet to be determined, although the Lake Placid Beach House was a possibility. The site needs to be secure, be accessible to people with physical challenges and fully available for nine days leading up to the election.

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Early voting moving to North Elba

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