NY absentee ballots getting counted on Election Day

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – By the time you go to bed Tuesday, you should have a good idea who actually won and lost the races in New York state.

That’s because, for the first time ever, the majority of absentee ballots are being counted on Election Day as opposed to several days later.

Those ballots are being put into the system now, so that come Tuesday at 9 p.m., they can be tallied alongside all the votes cast in person.

Decision 2022: Election Day is Tuesday, find out who’s on your ballot

Turnout so far has been strong. The Monroe County Board of Elections say about 55,000 voters cast their ballots already. Roughly 29,000 were registered Democrats; 13,000 were registered Republicans; 786 were Conservatives, and 113 were members of the Working Families party. The remaining 20 percent of those who voted early, which amounts to about 12,000 voters, have no party affiliation.

“I think when they’re more competitive people get more excited, whether it’s defending the incumbent or excited about the challenger so, I think the turnout is going to be higher because of that excitement,” Lisa Nicolay, Republican commissioner, said.

For the first time this year, absentee ballots will be included in the first batch of returns on Election Day. Already, about 70 percent of the absentee ballots requested in Monroe County have been returned.

That includes about 7,900 requested by registered Democrats; 3,100 by registered Republicans, 188 by Conservatives, and 27 by members of the Working Families Party. Nearly 2,500 voters who are not registered with a party have sent back ballots.

It used to be two weeks before those were counted. Not anymore.

“It really just provides a clearer picture of who the winners might potentially be for any particular race. When you have a majority of the ballots that are cast and they’re all uploaded on the same evening, I think it kind of gives everyone a level of comfort as to where they stand,” Jackie Oriz, Democratic commissioner, said.

“Hopefully by the close of business tomorrow when all of the Election Day reporting statistics are in, there hopefully will be more defined winners and losers,” she said.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Stay tuned to News10NBC on air and online for the latest results as they come in.