Paul Szmal: Good morning 749, it's FNLX Morning Thursday, and it's time to talk voting. We are 19 days out from the presidential and other elections as well, and on the line with us from the Cayuga County Board of Elections, we have Keith Batman and John Camardo. Gentlemen, good morning to you both.
Keith Batman, John Camardo: Good morning to you.
Paul Szmal: So Keith, I'll start with you, just give us an overview on early voting. A lot more people are choosing that option these days, and there are numbers of ways that you can do it.
Keith Batman, John Camardo: Yeah, early voting, there are really two big ways you can do it. One is by mail. So if you wanted to early vote by mail, you request a ballot, the ballot is sent to you, and you fill it out at home and send it back in. It's postage paid, so it's free, it's easy, and it's safe. Your vote is counted, and it's secret. The other big way to vote early is in person. We have four sites throughout the county, one in Auburn, at the Whitefield, Clifford Park, one in Cato, one in Moravia, and our new site at the Finger Lakes Mall. That begins Saturday, October 26th, and it runs through Sunday, November, I have to do the math, November 3rd.
Paul Szmal: Thank you. And by the way, if you go to the county website, KiyukiCounty.us, you'll see the link for all this information, because the hours vary by day. The first day of early voting is Saturday, October 26th, from 9 to 5. It runs through Sunday, November 3rd. Hours vary. There are some nights where it's too late for people to work that need to go in the evening, and other days it's early for people to go in before work.
So John, let's just talk about the difference between early voting by mail and what we've always referred to as absentee voting.
Keith Batman, John Camardo: Well, you can go on our website and ask for an application, but an absentee is you need a reason why you can't come in and vote. So if you're asking by mail, you could just ask for a registration and ask for a ballot to be mailed out for you.
But Ted, I just want to talk about one thing. This year is going to be a very busy year, of course, because of the presidential election, and we've added the mall for convenience to people. So anybody in the county can go to the mall and vote at the mall, and as you just said, we start early voting on October the 26th. So it's going to be a busy year. We selected the mall this year, so anybody in the county could vote at the mall to take the pressure off the other voting spots. I think we're probably the only one in upstate New York that started this program, so it's not only going to be a great opportunity for the residents of Kewy County, the voters of Kewy County, but also a model for other counties to look at in the future of how to give people the opportunity to get out to vote, and an easy way to get out to vote, and a convenient way to get out to vote. So we're looking forward to the experience at the mall this year.
Paul Szmal: With the two early voting options, at some point do you think that absentee ballots will just be done away with? Because really, there's not any great need to get one, because you can just go in and vote early.
Keith Batman, John Camardo: Correct. That's going to be up to the state to determine that, the State Board of Elections. But until something like that happens, both options are available.
Paul Szmal: Now, Keith, one of the questions people always have is, they want to make sure they're registered. What's the best way to confirm? And we should warn people, too, about, you know, there's scams going around in relation to voting. So, what's the best way to make sure that you're registered?
Keith Batman, John Camardo: Well, there are a number of ways. Of course, you don't get unregistered if you've voted. So if you've voted in recent elections, you can be confident you're registered. You can go to the New York State site, the elections, www.elections.ny.gov, and look up yourself to make sure you're registered. You can call the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections at 315-253-1285. We have an automatic system, so you can leave a message. We get back to you with your registration, or talk with someone directly. We can check for you. So those are probably the two best ways. But you don't have to be worried about being registered if you've been voting. If you're a new voter, you will get a postcard in the mail confirming that you were recently registered to vote.
Paul Szmal: All right, that's good to know, because like I said, I think there's a lot of different scams going around. People get notices that say you're not on the rolls or whatever. So if you've been voting regularly, like you say, you don't get unregistered.
So the other thing we want to make sure everybody knows this cycle is that we have Proposition 1 on the back of the ballot. So make sure you turn your ballot over.
Keith Batman, John Camardo: Yes, and that's a, of course, one of the things that always happens in elections is some people don't turn their ballots over. We have written on the ballots, turn your ballot over. But of course, many people don't see that. And I totally understand it. You get in to vote, you vote for your candidates, and then you're ready to go, because you move on to your day. One of the things I point out is another reason to vote by mail is you get your ballot at home and you have time to look at it carefully. And things you've forgotten, like, well, who are these candidates? You have time to research them. Or in the case of the proposal, the proposition, you have time to research that if you haven't done so prior to going to the polls. But it is important.
Paul Szmal: Do you still need help with poll workers, either this election or in future cycles?
Keith Batman, John Camardo: We're set this election, but we can always use new poll workers for future cycles. So if anyone's interested, again, they can go to our website and sign up. As we get near the next election cycle, we will be putting out appeals.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely, if someone's interested in participating in our governmental process, it would be great to hear from you.
Alright, again, everything we've talked about today is on the county's website, CayugaCounty.us. Look for the Board of Elections link. You'll see how to vote early by mail. You'll see how to vote early in person. And again, those locations, there are four of them. The Cato Municipal Building, Auburn Clifford Park at the Y Field, the Moravia Town Hall, and a brand new location centrally located for people around Auburn at the Finger Lakes Mall. Early voting begins on October 26th. It runs through Sunday, November 3rd. And again, the hours vary. There are some hours that are early morning for people who need that, some hours that go to late in the evening. I've been talking with Keith Battman and John Camardo from the Board of Elections. Thanks for giving us this great information and making sure everybody knows what they need to know.
Keith Batman, John Camardo: Thank you, Ted.
