Photo by Joanne Beck
There may not have been hiccups on the first day of early voting, but there were plenty of smiles for at least one voter who was glad she did her patriotic duty Saturday.
Tonya Gray, proudly displaying an “I Voted” sticker on her forehead, was practically giddy as she came out of the ARC Community Center building on Woodrow Road Saturday in Batavia after casting her votes in this year’s election.
“It’s the first time I ever voted early,” said Gray of Batavia. “It just made me feel good to get it off my chest. There’s so much going on in the world, so much madness. I’m able to have a voice, I feel so good. I feel chipper and I voted. And I’m going to spread the word and tell others to vote early — today.”
She planned to corral some friends or family to get off the couch and go vote instead of sitting around and letting time waste, she said. Gray later added that “tomorrow isn’t promised to us,” so go vote while you can.
Apparently she wasn’t alone in her enthusiasm to get it done on the first of nine early voting days. There were 1,143 voters that showed up to ARC Saturday, Democratic Election Commissioner Lorie Longhany said.
“We processed more early voters today than we ever have in one day,” she said.
As far as the process and people, things couldn’t have gone better, Longhany said.
“There were no hiccups,” she said. “Setup went without a hitch. Voters were pleasant, poll workers and techs did an outstanding job. Everything ran perfectly today. Very proud of the staff.”
She checked in at the polling site earlier in the day and was also at the Board of Elections, where people could register to vote. Some registrations came from portals and some from walk-ins, for a total of about 50 for the day, she said.
Alicia Catlin was the election technician for polling, and will be one of three for the nine-day duration. There were 10 inspectors and three coordinators also working with her Saturday, she said.
With about 90 minutes to go, they had clocked “just over 1,000 so far,” she said.
“It has been crazy,” Catlin said. “We had a line at 8:30 this morning. I’m happy, I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed.”
The place seemed like a well-oiled machine just past 3:15 p.m., as people still trickled in, checking in, getting their voting forms, taking a seat at the privacy voting tables and then submitting their own forms through the scanner.
County officials have said that presidential elections draw the most people out to vote, and this year is to be no exception. It has been a hotly contested race between non-incumbents Donald Trump and J.D. Vance on the Republican and Conservative tickets and Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on the Democratic and Working Families lines vying for president of the United States.
Patrick and Karen Herron of Le Roy were satisfied with how well it was operated, and glad they got their voting over with.
“It’s great, especially for people that work. And that was easy,” Karen Herron said. “It seems that it was pretty regulated. This is a very important election.”
Her husband Patrick said it was a first time for them early voting, and he did so because that’s what the Republican Party had asked of its members.
“And anyone that can vote should do so,” he said, listing some concerns of immigration, the high cost of goods, and turmoil in the Middle East. “There’s a lot of chaos that shouldn’t be.”
Early voting continues at the ARC Community Center, 38 Woodrow Road, Batavia with the following schedule:
• Monday, Oct. 28: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 29: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 30: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 31: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 1: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 2: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 3: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For additional information about this year’s election, sample ballots and Election Day, go to the Board of Elections.
Photo by Joanne Beck
