BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — With nearly 97% of the Election Day votes in Tuesday night Democrat Kim Beaty for Erie County Sheriff is trailing her Republican challenger John Garcia by about 5,000 votes.
Democratic Erie County Elections Commissioner Jeremy Zellner says Beaty will not be conceding yet until all the votes are counted.
Zellner says 19,000 absentee ballots were sent out, and Erie County has 11,000 still to count. Voters could drop off ballots as late as election night, or have them post-marked by Tuesday.
There was a higher than usual turnout in the suburbs with a higher percentage of Republican voters coming out.
If elected Sheriff, Kim Beaty would continue her 34 year Law Enforcement career, become the first woman and first woman of color to hold that seat.
