This being a presidential election year, election commissioners are expecting a large turnout, the largest since election law changes have been passed in the past four years.

During the coronavirus pandemic, absentee voting was expanded and these expansions have been continued with additions to state election law allowing no-excuse early mail voting.

Essex County Deputy Democratic Commissioner Jennifer Fifield said their preparation for the election is “pretty much status quo” compared to recent years, but “just more of everything.” In presidential election years, she said voter registration and absentee ballot applications typically double or triple. She said this is a slow year for local elections, just because of the way terms fell. There aren’t a lot of seats up for election this year — mostly judge positions and unexpired terms.

Local races are typically held on odd-number years, but Fifield said the state is moving local elections to even-numbered years starting in 2025, to match them with larger state and federal elections.

Fifield said they’re not hearing any election security issues in Essex County, but they’re gearing up on security ahead of time.

There are 27,810 registered voters in Essex County, according to county Board of Elections data. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the county’s total population at 36,910 in 2022.

Of the 27,810 registered voters, 8,241 are Democrats and 11,280 are Republicans. Of the two major parties, there is a 42% to 58% split with Republicans having a majority.

There are 6,283 voters who are not affiliated with any political party in Essex County. There are also 316 registered Conservatives and 149 registered in the Working Families party. There are 1,589 registered in “other” parties in Essex County.

Voters must register before Oct. 26 to be eligible to vote, and mailed applications must be postmarked no later than Oct. 21 and received by the board of elections no later than Oct. 26. Any change of address must be received by the board no later than Oct. 21.

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Races and a proposal

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The big race at the left of the ballot will be the presidential race between former Republican president Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and current Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Trump and Vance are also on the Conservative party line. Harris and Walz are also on the Working Families party line.

This race had a major change two months ago when current President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Harris became the Democratic party candidate.

The race for New York’s 21st Congressional District has incumbent Republican Elise Stefanik and challenging Democrat Paula Collins on the ballot. Stefanik is also on the Conservative party line. Collins is also on the Working Families party line.

The independently registered Scott Lewis is still fighting in court to gain access to the ballot on the Common Sense Party line. After his petition was initially denied he sued NY-21 political committee leaders and the state Board of Elections, but that case was not heard by a judge because of alleged filing errors. Lewis has moved the case to a federal court, arguing that the law allows for his name to appear on the ballot with a note that there is pending litigation around his certificate. Though he is currently not on the ballot, he is also running a write-in campaign for the seat.

The U.S. Senate race has three candidates seeking the office — incumbent Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who is also running on the Working Families party line; Michael Sapraicone, who is running on the Republican and Conservative party lines; and Diana Sare, who is running on the LaRouche party line.

A statewide proposal, found on the back side of the ballot will be called “Amendment to Protect Against Unequal Treatment.” It is a constitutional amendment codifying existing protections for numerous groups of people against unequal treatment.

The language of the proposal will say: “This proposal would protect against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy. It also protects against unequal treatment based on reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

A “yes” vote puts these protections in the New York state constitution. A “no” vote leaves these protections out of the state constitution.

On the county level, there is only one contested race for Essex County Judge between Lake Placid attorney Bryan Liam Kennelly on the Democrat and Working Families party lines and Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Things are quiet on the state level. Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay Lake, and state Sen. Dan Stec, R,C-Queensbury, are both running for reelection uncontested.

Two people are running for an open North Elba town justice seat — Democrat Sean Donovan and Brenda Smith on the Justice party line.

In Wilmington, there are open seats for town justice and assessor, but nobody on the ballot for these positions. The winner will come down to a write-in ballot.

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Voting

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Voting on Election Day will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. To find your local polling station, go to voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.

To request a vote by early mail or by absentee ballot, applications must be received by the board no later than Oct. 26. A state portal to make an application can be found at tinyurl.com/23b6me5m.

Early mail and absentee ballot applications can be returned in person at the board of election office until Nov. 4. The ballots themselves can be returned until the close of polls on Nov. 5.

Changes in election law since the 2022 election state that if a voter requests an absentee ballot, they are no longer permitted to vote by machine on election day or during the early voting period. Previously, voters who requested absentee ballots could vote by machine, and one vote would be invalidated. Now, if an absentee ballot is requested, the voter is required to vote using that method. They could still vote by affidavit on Election Day. These affidavit ballots would not be fed into the machine at the poll site. They go through a verification process and are scanner later at the board of election offices.

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Early voting

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Early voting in Essex County will take place at the Lake Placid Beach House at 31 Parkside Dr. in Lake Placid and at the Essex County Public Safety Building at 702 Stowersville Road in Lewis from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3. Voting will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 26, 27, 29 and 31, as well as on Nov. 1, 2 and 3. Voting will be open from noon to 8 p.m. on Oct. 28 and 30.

The Essex County Board of Elections can be reached at 518-873-3474.

The state Board of Elections can be reached at 518-474-1953.

(Lake Placid News Editor/Publisher Andy Flynn contributed to this report.)