BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Early voting for the special election to fill New York's 26th Congressional seat left vacant by former Congressman Brian Higgins starts this weekend.
“It is a vast district. It's big,” remarked Jeremy Zellner, democratic commissioner, Erie County Board of Elections.
“This is a very important race,” replied Ralph Mohr, republican commissioner, Erie County Board of Elections.
If you're a registered voter in the 26th Congressional District your official ballot, with Democrat Tim Kennedy facing off against Republican Gary Dickson, is being processed at the Erie County Board of Elections. Early voting starts this weekend, April 20.
“We've had to put special coding on to make sure that we get it correct for the right election,” explained Mohr.
9,000 absentee ballots were requested in Erie County for this race.
“Over half of Erie County and a good part of Niagara County are currently lacking representation with the resignation of Brian Higgins,” Mohr said.
The Erie County Election commissioners from both sides of the aisle tell me it's incredibly easy for enrolled voters to cast ballots.
All 38 polling sites will be open across the county for early voting.
“If you go within Erie County and vote early, you'll get the ballot that is in your district, so even if you live in Buffalo and you go out to Sardinia and vote there, you're going to get the ballot that you're required to get out in Sardinia,” described Zellner.
If you look at the 26th Congressional map, you can see how far-reaching this district is.
“It goes into Niagara Falls up to Lewiston, so it's a big district that spans two different counties,” Zellner noted.
“It’s about half of Erie County, so there are over 300,000 eligible voters. Party affiliation does not matter in this race, unlike the presidential primary, where you had to be either a Republican or Democrat. Here, any person that resides in the 26th Congressional District is eligible to vote,” Mohr noted.
On Tuesday, senior reporter Eileen Buckley spoke to district voters Darlene Ott and Paul Owens at the Cheektowaga Senior Center.
“I’m hoping people get out there and vote,” replied Darlene Ott, Cheektowaga voter.
“The most important thing is for people to go vote,” responded Paul Owens, Cheektowaga voter.
Despite the difficult political climate, these voters tell me the only way to make change is to cast your ballot.
“When I go in there and vote, I decide then, whom I’m going to vote for and I never, ever tell anyone who I’m voting for, ever,” Owens commented. “I’m absolutely going to vote and as long as I can get to the voting booth.”
“I think it's going to be a good race. It might be a very close race,” Ott said.
“But I think you're seeing a lot of activity in this race, both out in the community and by the candidates," Zellner stated. “Trying to get their bases out, trying to get their people out to vote.”
Voting starts April 20 and runs through April 28. There will be no voting on the 29. The special election will be held on April 30.
Polls for early voting will be open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. On April 30 poll hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“I think with the increase and attention of the nation level, plus the fact that this is a very important office, being a federal office, we've seen a number of requests come in for absentee and mail-in ballots already,” Mohr said.
