TOMPKINS COUNTY, NY (WSKG) – Early voting in New York has ended. People flooded polling places across the state to cast their vote, often saying they wanted to ensure their vote was counted.
One of them was Emily Hopkins.
“I wanted my vote to be counted right away and not after the Election Day,” she said.
Early voting sign in Tompkins County, NY. (Celia Clarke/WSKG)
John Conklin, who’s with the state Board of Elections, explains early votes don’t get counted when they are cast.
“The tabulation of those votes occurs at about eight o clock on Election Day,” he explained. “So, the early votes are tabulated at eight and then Election Day votes are tabulated after nine o’clock and both of them are expected to be reported in our election night report.”
That means there’s no way to know how many votes a candidate received during the early voting period.
“There’s not going to be a distinction made between early votes and Election Day votes. It’ll all be tabulated as one number,” Conklin said.
Due to COVID-19, more people than ever are expected to vote by absentee ballot. That means results may not be final for several days or even weeks after the election.