OBSERVER Photos by Gregory Bacon
Chautauqua County Republican Election Commissioner Brian Abram and Democratic Election Commissioner Luz Torres stand by a voting machine.
While they don’t want to speak for all states, Chautauqua County’s two election commissioners insist our elections in New York state are completely secure and trustworthy.
Brian Abram is the county Republican Election Commissioner, a position he has held since 2009. Luz Torres is the county Democratic Election Commissioner. She has worked for the Board of Elections since 2013, becoming the commissioner in 2021.
Both of them insist that a resident’s vote is completely secure and anonymous, even with all the changes that have occurred during their tenure.
VOTING BY MAIL
Two people test the voting machines that will be used next month. One individual is a Republican and the other is a Democrat.
One of the newest changes in voting has been the creation of the New York State Early Mail Ballot Application.
It used to be, residents who were unable to vote in person on Election Day could apply for an Absentee Ballot. Those ballots are still handed out today. They usually are issued for people who are not in the county on Election Day, have a temporary or permanent disability, are a caretaker of a person who is ill or physically disabled, a resident or patient of a Veterans Health Administration Hospital, or are in jail awaiting trial or have not been convicted of a felony.
When the Early Mail Voter Act took effect this year, it allowed voters to apply for a ballot to vote through the mail without having to have a specific reason.
As of Oct. 2, 3,007 ballots had been mailed out in the county. Abram guesses that the county will see between 7,000 and 8,000 requests.
Even though it’s more work, Torres said she likes the changes made by the state legislature for voting by mail.
Republican Election Commissioner Brian Abram is pictured by a printer that is used by the Chautauqua County Board of Elections to print ballots.
“I’m OK with the mail-in ballot. Especially for this time of year, people expect long lines, which we hope that is not going to be the case, but if they want a mail-in ballot and don’t want to leave their homes to stand in line all day, they can ask for a mail-in ballot,” she said.
Abram, meanwhile, isn’t a fan of all the changes.
He noted there was a proposition on a New York state ballot that asked about “no excuse absentee” ballots, but that proposition was defeated. Then the state legislature passed the Early Voting Mail Act, which he feels goes against the will of state voters.
“I don’t see the difference between the two,” he said.
Even so, he said they are committed to following the law.
County residents can apply for absentee/early mail ballots until Oct. 26.
Once a ballot is returned, the outer envelope is opened so election officials can match the signature. No envelopes are opened until there is both a Democrat and Republican election official present.
Once the outer envelope is opened, the sealed inner envelope is set aside on a “cart on wheels” device, similar to what is used by the Post-Office, so that envelopes are separated by municipalities.
The cart is set in a room that requires two keys to access. One key is possessed by a Democrat and the other key is possessed by a Republican.
Those envelopes are opened the Friday before early voting begins by a machine. The results of those ballots are placed on an “unshareable” computer disk, which are not read until the close of election night.
“You have to have a system in place that doesn’t allow the release of that information,” Abram said.
The results of the absentee and early voting ballots are the first results posted online after the polls close. “The Board of Elections, we’re seeing the results for the first time, too,” Abram said.
Every person who requests an absentee or early voting ballot is recorded. Should that person show up at the polls on Election Day, the poll workers will see that that person has already “voted” – even if the ballot has not been returned.
Oct. 26 is the final day to register to vote. Abram said anyone can register as long as they are a resident of Chautauqua County. He said they have had homeless individuals register.
“They give us some sort of instructions and we pinpoint them to the best of our ability,” he said.
Those locations can be at a homeless shelter or even a specific spot where someone is living.
Locally, Abram and Torres said it’s extremely rare for a non-U.S. citizen to try to register to vote.
“I would say two or less,” Abram said, referring to his time as election commissioner.
If someone can’t prove citizenship, that person will be informed he/she is unable to vote.
EARLY VOTING
Oct. 26 is also the beginning of early voting. There will be four voting sites in the county – the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds in Dunkirk, the Chautauqua Mall in Lakewood, the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown and the Carlson Community Center in Mayville’s Lakeside Park on Route 394.
The Mayville park is a new location this year for early voting. In the past residents had to go to the Board of Elections office in Mayville, however officials said there will be more room for parking and workers at the Community Center than in the HRC building, where it’s been held in the past.
The hours for each day varies. Oct. 26-27 are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 28-29 are from noon to 8 p.m. Oct. 30-Nov. 1 are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 2-3 are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
While absentee and mail-in ballots have grown, election officials say early voting is that much more popular.
Abram predicts that around 15,000 people will participate in early voting, while only about half of that will request a ballot by mail.
Early voting concludes the Sunday before Election Day.
TURNOUT AND CERTIFICATION
Luz expects a high turnout this year. “It’s always high during the presidential race,” she said.
In 2023, when there were no state or federal offices up, about 28% of registered voters participated.
This year Abram is guessing that between 72-76% of registered voters will participate.
“Everybody wants to have their opinion put into the ballot box this year,” he said.
On Election Day, Abram said there will be 82 machines located at 48 poll sites. They are working with their own print shop to print the ballots locally.
After the votes are tabulated, Abram said 3% of all votes cast on Election Day will be examined by hand to compare machine tabulation to hand tabulation.
“The entire ballot has to be recounted by a bipartisan team and it will take days to completely certify the results and audit the results,” he said.
Any race that is .005% difference, or within 20 votes, must be recounted by hand.
Having all these confirmations will take longer to finalize the results, but Abram believes it is worth it.
“Do I like our system? Yes. Do I think we have it right where it’s two of the major parties balancing each other out? Absolutely. Do I feel it is the most efficient? No, but it’s the most effective,” he said.