Thousands of Western New Yorkers participate in first day of early voting

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Early voting kicked off Saturday in New York State and tens of thousands of Western New Yorkers have already cast their ballots.

WIVB News 4 visited several polling sites across Erie and Niagara Counties and the lines were wrapped around buildings at various locations.

“It’s going to elect the president who is going to be ruling this country for the next four years,” said Amherst resident Nazmul Khan. “That’s very important for our lives, our future generations.”

Some people decided to vote early to beat waiting times on Election Day, but they had to wait a little bit longer than usual to cast their ballots due to a high turnout.

A total of 18,946 people in Erie County cast their ballots for the first day of early voting. Board of Elections officials said it’s the highest first-day tally since early voting began.

To compare, in 2019, a total of 26,500 people voted throughout the entire nine-day total.

“It’s been very busy,” said Niagara County Republican Elections Commissioner Jennifer Sandonato. “We had lines from the beginning. People are waiting and we’re processing them pretty quickly as well.”

Voters in Erie County said some of the biggest issues that brought them out to the polls were the economy, women’s rights and protecting American democracy.

“I think it’s the dynamics of our country,” said East Amherst resident Jason Coho. “We need to get back to the values.”

In Niagara County, lines were just as long. A pair News 4 spoke to said they want to see lower prices at the grocery store and a solution to the border crisis.

“I want to see a closed border,” said early voter Marke Mittlestadt. “I want to see more people go back to work.”

Voters at the polls said it’s imperative that everyone gets out and votes this election, regardless of which candidate one prefers.

“They really need to back the people they believe in,” said first-time voter Renay Lynch. “That they feel like they’re going to go out there and not just talk the talk but walk the walk and stand behind every word and it comes true.”

Click here to see more information on dates, hours and locations for early voting.

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Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here.

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