Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Election Day 2024 has finally arrived.
Voter turnout has been high since polls opened at 6 a.m. EST on Tuesday morning.
"In the first hour of voting, we had about 20,000 registered voters in Erie County cast their ballots," said Erie County Republican Elections Commissioner Ralph Mohr on WBEN.
"It's going to be a high turnout election. We're asking people to be patient."
Things have been going smoothly, but there have been a few hiccups.
"We've had some minor glitches. Ballots could not be scanned, and were instead placed in an emergency bin. Those ballots do come back to the Board of Elections, and they do get counted," Mohr assured.
After the polls close at 9 p.m. EST, the first results will be posted.
Erie County Democratic Election Commissioner Jeremy Zellner told WBEN the lion's share of absentee ballot and early voting numbers should appear fairly soon after the polls close. The results of Tuesday's in-person voting will appear shortly after that.
With so much focus on delayed results in other states, Zellner was asked if New York's election process could be a model for the country?
"We really are," he said. "We've expedited the process by tallying the absentee ballots as we get them. Our bipartisan system is the way to go. Each side is represented every step of the way. It provides a measure of security that both sides are keeping an eye on things."
An absentee ballot can be delivered, or mailed to the Erie County Board of Elections as long as it is postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024. It can be turned into a polling location or, if mailed, it must be received by the Board within 13 days.
Voters must use your designated polling place. Find it here, http://elections.erie.gov/Voters, or call the Erie County Board of Elections at 716-858-8891.