Early voting starts when voters appreciate the convenience and flexibility it offers

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Early voting began in New York State on Saturday, just ten days before Election Day. In Onondaga County, polling places were filled with neighbors eager to cast their ballots.

We asked voters why they prefer to vote early and how it has changed their election experience.

The 2020 election marked the first time neighbors in New York State were able to vote early.

Now more voters are starting to cast their ballots early, like Bill Motto.

We were shocked today; I was shocked today to see how many people were in line.

For Vince Reynolds, early voting allows him to vote on his schedule.

“We always try to vote early if we can, and I don’t know what my schedule will look like on November 5, so I wanted to get it done and taken care of.”

In 2019, more than 250,000 people voted early in the elections in New York state. For some voters, like Marjorie Schaff, the reason she wanted to vote now was the presidential election.

Well, I wanted to take the fear away. This election has been very exciting, and I wanted to make sure I got my vote while I still could. You never know what could happen.

We also spoke with Jacob Levin, who said the benefits of early voting are that it is more flexible for them; they can vote at a time that suits them, not just on one day.

“I mean, I went up; there was no line or anything like that. I’ve voted with my parents before and there were super long lines, so I think early voting won’t be as busy.

Early voting will be available from Sunday, October 27 through Sunday, November 3, with an in-person election day on November 5.