PLATTSBURGH — Early voting begins today as the number of absentee ballots in Clinton County mounts.
As of Friday, 4,503 absentee ballots had been sent out to those who requested them, and 2,944 had been returned according to the Clinton County Board of Elections.
Of those returned, 1,384 are from Democratic Party voters; 869 from Republicans; 25 from Conservative Party voters and four from the Working Families Party.
The rest, 662, are from voters who are not registered in any party or with another party.
Absentee ballots can be received by the Board of Elections up until Nov. 12 as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 5, county Republican Elections Commissioner David Souliere IV.
Overseas absentee ballots can be accepted up until Nov. 18 as long as they are also postmarked by Election Day.
In years past, absentee ballots were not counted until about a week after the polls closed, but that has changed.
Souliere said that absentee ballots will be scanned during the early voting period, and the totals will be included when the votes are tabulated on Election Night, giving a clearer picture of the results.
“I’d say about 95 percent of absentees will be reflected in the count on Election Night,” Souliere said.
There is only one major race in Clinton County this year with the City of Plattsburgh mayoral race featuring Democrat Wendell Hughes and Republican Don Kasprzak, but 2024 is a presidential year election, and Souliere expects heavy turnout among the 50,346 registered voters in the county.
“We had about 72 percent in 2020 (also a presidential year) and I see no reason why it shouldn’t be as high this year,” he said.
“If we get 70 percent or more it will be a good turnout.”
Of the registered voters in the county, 17,070 are Democrats; 15,918 are Republicans; 603 are Conservative Party voters and 274 are Working Families Party voters.
The vast majority of the remaining 16,481 voters are registered with no party.
In Essex County, 2,422 early ballots had been requested, and 1,467 had been sent back as of Friday.
In Franklin County, 2,125 had been sent out, but totals of how many had been returned so far were not available.
Early voting begins today and will last through Nov. 3, two days prior to Election Day.
All early voting in Clinton County will be held at the County Government Center at 137 Margaret St. in Plattsburgh.
In Essex County, early voters can cast ballots at the Lake Placid Beach House, 31 Parkside Drive, Lake Placid, and the Essex County Public Safety Building, 702 Stowersville Road, Lewis.
In Franklin County, early voting is at the Board of Elections office at the Franklin County Courthouse, 355 West Main St., Suite 161, Malone.
Souliere expects early voting to be busy in Clinton County.
“We had some days in 2022, a mid-term year, where there were 600 to 700 people early voting on some days and we expect to see at least that,” he said.
“It may ebb and flow, but I think there will definitely be days when we hit 1,000.”