It's Election Day 2021, Here's What You Need to Know

Today is Election Day. Literally, the day that we have all been waiting for.

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After months of political ads and endless commentary from so-called experts, it all comes down to today. The choices we make as a society, and you make as an individual, will have an impact on our city, county, and state for generations.

So, what do you need to know for today:

Polls in New York State open at 6 am and stay open until 9 pm.
After you fill in your ballot, make sure you flip the ballot over because there are a number of ballot initiatives on the backside that will decide if changes should be made to the New York State Constitution.
In case you don’t think you have enough time to vote today, New York State Law requires your employer to give you up to 2 hours of paid time off if you do not have “sufficient time to vote.”
While it is too late to request a mail-in ballot, if you already have one - you can drop it off at any voting location or at your local Board of Elections office.
When you go vote, you have to vote at the polling place that has been assigned to you. If you don’t know where that is, you can check the NYS Elections Voter Lookup Tool right here.
If you live in Erie or Niagara County you can also check their local voter look-up tools here for Erie County and here for Niagara County.
You do not need an ID to vote in New York State. Just your name and you can sign the voter check-in book. Your identification might help you check in faster, but it is not a requirement.
If you run into any issues while voting, you can immediately reach out to the local Board of Elections. You can reach the Erie County BOE at 716-858-8891, and the Niagara County BOE at 716-438-4041 or 716-438-4040.
Also, the Office of the New York Attorney General would also like to hear about any issues you run into, you can find their Election Hotline Tool here.

While it's expected that we will not see the same level of voter turnout that we see during a Presidental Election year, we all hope that you will go exercise your voice in our local, county, and state elections. These elections are just as important, if not more so.

Just in case you don't remember, the following offices are open to being elected in Erie County this year:

Justice of the New York State Supreme Court - 14 Year Term
Erie County Family Court Judge - 10 Year Term
Erie County Sheriff - 4 Year Term
Erie County Comptroller - 4 Year Term
Erie County County Legislator - 2 Year Term
City of Buffalo Court Judge - 10 Year Term
City of Buffalo Mayor - 4 Year Term
City of Lackawanna Councilman - 4 Year Term
City of Tonawanda Mayor - 4 Year Term
City of Tonawanda Councilmember - 2 Year Term

This is just a small sampling of the offices that are going to be filled this year. You can get a complete list of the offices being elected this year on the NYS Elections Website.

We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate
-Thomas Jefferson

Your vote is so important. In order for our society to work, it needs you to be involved in it. And for those who say your vote doesn’t matter; if your vote doesn’t matter, then why do ‘they’ try so hard to keep you from doing it?

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