Early voting in Erie County begins Wednesday. What to know

Erie County voters wanting to vote early in the upcoming election can consider on-demand mail ballot voting.

Starting Wednesday, Erie County voters can request, complete and submit a mail ballot during a single visit to the Voter Registration/Elections Office, or Room 112, at the Erie County Courthouse.

Erie County Director of Elections Tonia Fernandez said voters simply visit the office, request and fill out a mail-in ballot application and wait a few minutes until the application is processed.

“Once we process that application, we’ll give you your ballot; you can vote, package your ballot (in the enclosed security envelope) and drop it in our drop box located right in the office,” she said.

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Fernandez recommended that voters bring their driver’s license to expedite the voter registration verification process. Otherwise, she said, the process could take up to 15 minutes.

Residents who are not registered can do so at the office. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 21.

The mail ballots will be counted on Election Day or Nov. 5.

What if you applied for a mail-in ballot via mail?

For voters who applied for a mail-in ballot via mail, those ballots are expected to arrive at voters' homes the week of Oct. 14 or sooner, according to Erie County Clerk Karen Chillcott.

The last day to apply for a mail-in or absentee ballot is Oct. 29.

Voters will not have to pay for postage when returning their mail-in or absentee ballots. Mail-in ballots must be received by the county election office by Nov. 5 at 8 p.m.

Voter statistics in Erie County

As of Sept. 24, Erie County has recorded a total of 177,392 registered voters: 80,261 registered Democrats and 70,186 registered Republicans.

Since the June 24 primary election, Erie County has recorded 957 voters changing their party affiliation to Republican and 506 changing their party affiliation to Democrat.

Since the primary, Erie County has recorded 1,727 new registered Republicans and 269 new registered Democrats.

As of Sept. 24, Erie County has received a total of 26,252 mail-in ballot applications: 17,928 were Democratic and 6,192 were Republican.

For more information, call the Erie County Voter Registration/Elections Office at 814-451-6275 or visit the Erie County election office website.

A.J. Rao can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Early voting in Erie County begins Wednesday. Here’s what to know