WATERTOWN — In Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, more voters cast their ballots in this year’s election than any year before, according to preliminary results from each county Board of Elections.
This year, more than 104,000 people, or 67% of the registered voting base, are on track to have their votes counted in the three-county area, counting both in-person votes and requested absentee ballots. That marks an increase of about 16,000 votes compared to those cast in the 2016 election, and a higher percentage of all registered voters in the three counties.
In previous presidential elections, voter turnout has hovered at about the 60% mark. In 2016, 87,943 people, or 59.7% of all registered voters across the three counties, cast their ballots, and in 2012 that total was 83,277 people, or 56% of all registered voters.
Voter registration in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties jumped dramatically this year as well. About 155,557 people were registered to vote in the three counties by Nov. 1, according to the state Board of Elections. About 147,173 people had registered to vote by Nov. 1, 2016, and 147,858 were registered in the region by Nov. 1, 2012.
In 2016, very few people voted by absentee ballot. Mailed-in votes accounted for less than 10% of all votes cast across the three counties that year, and the story is much the same for the 2012 presidential election as well. This year, about 20% of all votes will be cast by absentee ballot in the region, once they’ve been received by local Boards of Elections. That’s likely due to provisions put in place to make absentee ballots more accessible because of the coronavirus pandemic. Under those provisions, registered voters in New York state were allowed to request their absentee ballots with the excuse that they were concerned about the possibility of catching the virus that causes COVID-19, and could submit their applications for a ballot online.
In-person voter turnout was lower this year than the last two presidential elections, even with the additional nine days of early voting. But some Election Day election inspectors attributed this to COVID-19 and the ability voters had to cast their vote by mail this year. About 82,514 people voted in person, either early or on Election Day, in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties this year, accounting for 53% of all registered voters.
Across the state’s 21st Congressional District, turnout trended higher than average as well. Between absentee and in-person ballots, about 72% of active registered voters cast ballots in this election. According to voter registration data from the state Board of Elections, there are 468,113 registered voters across the district. Turnout of the registered voting population was up by 1% this year when compared to the last presidential election in 2016, but there are also more than 35,000 additional registered voters in the district this year than there were in 2016.
With 92% of precincts reporting as of Thursday morning, at least 259,657 ballots were cast in-person, between early voting and day-of voting. There were also 68,164 absentee ballot requests made across the district and at least 55,082 had been returned by Thursday.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise reporter Elizabeth Izzo contributed to this report.
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