Election Results For 2024 Local Elections In Buffalo, New York

Election day has finally come and gone; now, people all over America are looking toward the final results of the vote. While it seems that the results of the Presidential election will not be known for a bit, we do have a pretty clear idea of what's happened in our state, county, and local municipal elections.

Election Day 2024 was Tuesday, November 5th, and the Empire State polls were open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. During the 15 hours that people could vote, plus the nine days available for early voting, more than 444,000 votes were cast in Erie County, along with nearly 100,000 votes being cast in Niagara County; the unofficial results are now available.

What Offices Were Being Elected This Year?

Since this is a presidential election year, the level of electoral excitement is much higher than we've seen in past years. Many people know about the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, but several other elections are on the ballot this year. For those folks who live in Western New York, some of those offices to be filled this year include:

• United States Senator From New York
• Representative in Congress For New York
• Justice of the New York State Supreme Court
• New York State Senator
• Member of New York State Assembly
• Erie County Family Court Judge
• Erie County District Attorney
• Erie County Legislator
• City of Buffalo Court Judge
• City of Buffalo Board of Education For Member at Large

While many people primarily focus on the President, all these other elections are just as essential to help shape the direction of our towns, cities, counties, and state because they directly impact you.

The Unofficial Results Are In

The unofficial results show several races were decided on election night:

• Amendment To The New York State Constitution Executive: Empire State residents have the chance to amend the state constitution rules when it comes to the equal treatment of people 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. Unofficially, 7,090,493 votes were cast, and more than 57% of those votes approved the ballot measure. If this stands, then the New York State Constitution will be amended.

• Amendment To The Erie County Charter: In addition to the statewide ballot initiative to change state law, there is a local measure to change the way Erie County imposes County Sales Tax. 390,786 people cast votes regarding this decision, and more than 62% of county residents voted no. This means the county has to follow the same process to authorize the sales tax as it did before.
• Representative in Congress For New York's 26th District: When former Congressman Brian Higgins resigned from office, then New York State Senator Timothy M. Kennedy ran in a special election to replace him. This election would either return Mr. Kennedy to Washington for a full term or award the seat to Anthony G. Marecki. With 329,822 votes cast, Mr. Kennedy unofficially earned 61% of the vote, thus returning him to Congress to represent Buffalo and Western New York.
• Member of New York State Assembly for the 141st District: New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes ran unopposed for this seat and garnered more than 33,000 votes from district residents. There were 275 write-in votes for various other people.

• New York State Senator for the 63rd District: The seat for this office has been vacant since Timothy M. Kennedy left office to become the Representative in Congress For New York's 26th District. April Baskin and John P. Moretti faced off against each other, and after more than 101,000 votes were cast, Ms. Baskin had nearly 66% of the vote.

When Will Americans Get The Final Election Results?

All of the results we've received so far are considered unofficial. According to New York State Election law, the final results aren't released until the votes are fully canvassed and certified.

According to the New York State Board of Elections, the final canvass will begin on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, at 2:00 pm.

Until then, you can view the full unofficial voting results in Erie County here, in Niagara County here, and New York Statewide here.