ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Early voting started this weekend in Monroe County and there’s been a big turnout at a number of sites. But as News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke shows us, there was a bit of early confusion for some about where to go to vote.

Where to early vote

All registered voters in Monroe County should have received a postcard listing their polling site. But that site is only for Election Day. If you’re planning to vote early… you’ve got to do it at one of the 17 polling sites that are set up for that, like the Monroe County office building.

Lines were out the door at many of the polling sites over the weekend, with some people waiting more than an hour. But generally, spirits were high and people didn’t seem to mind. In all, more than 30,000 people in Monroe County alone cast their ballots already.

There were some early complaints from folks who showed up at their regular polling places only to find them closed. Both the Democratic and Republican election commissioners told News10NBC they fielded some calls from people who felt like the postcard everyone received as a reminder could have been more clear.

“The Election Day poll site is the one on the top of the card and the early voting dates and times and locations are available through the QR code to the right of it,” said Jackie Ortiz, (D) Monroe County Election Commissioner.

“Hindsight is 20/20, it certainly could have been more clear but many times we take for granted that we’re so close to these types of things and what is obvious to one is certainly not obvious to someone else,” added Lisa Nicolay, (R) Monroe County Election Commissioner.

If you’re planning to vote early, Nicolay said “if people see that there’s a big line they can always come back, we’ll be there all week. Or they can wait until Election Day and vote or they can go to another site and maybe it won’t be as busy. The city sites seem to be a little bit less busy.”

We have a list of all 17 early voting sites in Monroe County and the sites available in other counties in our region, at this link. Check that list before you head out if you’re planning to vote early. If you’re sticking with election day–use the site listed on the postcard you got from the Board of Elections.

Early voting wait times

A lot of the early voting sites were very busy over the weekend, but in Perinton it has been nonstop all day Monday. The line extended to the back of the mall and around the corner.

Hour-long wait times didn’t seem to deter many early voters.

“Our numbers are showing that we’re actually surpassing our first weekend in 2020 which is fantastic,” said Nicolay.

Even if there isn’t a line, it might take a few extra minutes compared to Election Day.

“We print a ballot that is unique to you, on demand. So, its a blank piece of paper, we put it in, it finds your right person, prints your ballot that’s unique to you, then you have your opportunity to go sit or stand and vote and then put it in the machine. Where as on Election Day, we have a lot of preprinted ballots and because you can only go to that one location, we’re ready for you,” Nicolay explained.

On Election Day there are 215 polling sites across Monroe County. For early voting, there are 17 where any registered voter can cast their ballot.

“Right, so we originally were shooting for 20 but they are very difficult to come by, a lot of folks will say, ‘Why didn’t you go here and why didn’t you go there?’ They’re pretty difficult to come by because we’re asking places to basically give up control for nine days straight, eight hours a day,” said Ortiz.

The commissioners say they’re boosting resources at the locations that are busiest and in addition to election workers and inspectors, they’ve also placed a Board of Elections employee at each early voting site to help with the crowds.

“We did expect it, but we’re definitely blowing the numbers out of the water right now,” Ortiz said.

Security concerns

Once you’ve gotten to your polling place and made your way through the line, there’s security needed to ensure the machines and your votes are kept safe and secure.

“We are collecting the information on the machines but nothing has been read and none of those things will happen until election night when we add everything together and publish it up for everyone to see,” Ortiz said.

Until then, every night, a team of people work to ensure the integrity of the process.

“They are bipartisan lock and key and those results are all kept together and separate and they will be shared with people, as we do every election night at 9 p.m.,” Nicolay said.

There are six more days of early voting until Election Day.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News 10 uses A.I.