Nearly 6 million New Yorkers cast ballots in Tuesday's midterm elections, according to voting rights advocates, as early voting participation surged across the state.
During a virtual briefing Thursday, election officials and advocates celebrated the turnout, crediting expanded early voting and mail-in ballot options with making the process more accessible.
Nearly 2 million New Yorkers voted early in person, a roughly 67% increase from the 2022 midterm elections, according to figures from the New York State Board of Elections.
In Erie County, 99,283 residents cast ballots during the nine-day early voting period, according to the county's Board of Elections. More than 13,000 residents voted on Oct. 24 alone, the first day of early voting.
The Erie County Board of Elections reported 627,999 registered voters as of Oct. 28. Early in-person voting accounted for the equivalent of nearly 16% of that registration figure, although overall turnout figures remain preliminary as election officials continue processing ballots.
New York introduced statewide early in-person voting in 2019 and expanded access to early mail voting in 2024. Susan Lerner of Common Cause New York said voters are increasingly embracing those changes.
“These reforms made our elections more accessible, and voters are steadily relying on them more each election, exactly as we had hoped when we passed these reforms in 2019," she said.
But the election wasn't without complications.
In Buffalo, ballot-printing problems disrupted several polling locations on the first day of early voting. Some ballots were printed with one side upside down, causing scanning machines to reject them. Erie County Board of Elections officials said the problem was corrected and affected ballots were secured for counting.
Westchester County experienced a more widespread problem on Election Day, when a programming error disrupted ballot scanners across the county. Voters were instructed to place their completed ballots into secure emergency bags, which were later transported under police escort to a counting facility.
Erica Smitka of the League of Women Voters of New York State said the malfunction did not prevent voters from casting their ballots.
“It's important for voters to remember that yes, this was an unfortunate human error, but every voter will have their ballot counted, and our elections aren't final until those ballots are counted,” she said.
Meanwhile, election officials are continuing to process outstanding ballots before certifying results.
“It's very important to understand that delay in any final count is a pro-voter measure that all of our groups have worked hard to gain, just like early voting," said Chris Alexander of the NAACP New York State Conference.
Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can be received through Nov. 10, while military and overseas ballots have until Nov. 16 to arrive.
County election boards will continue reviewing outstanding ballots, reconciling vote totals and auditing voting machines. County results must be certified and transmitted to the state by Nov. 28, with statewide certification expected by Dec. 15.
Meanwhile, voting rights organizations say they intend to work with state lawmakers to strengthen election administration and cybersecurity protections ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
