AUBURN #- The Cayuga County Board of Elections opened Saturday to give people one last chance to register to vote for the Nov. 4 elections.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Jessica Jenkins, left, and her mother, Angelina, register to vote and sign up to work a polling station at the Cayuga County Board of Elections office Saturday afternoon. The board held special hours for last-minute registrations.
Jessica Jenkins, left, and her mother, Angelina, register to vote and sign up to work a polling station at the Cayuga County Board of Elections office Saturday afternoon. The board held special hours for last-minute registrations.
And the response was overwhelming.
“People were here before we even opened,” said Tom Prystal, Jr., deputy commissioner of the Cayuga County Board of Elections, “People were here at noon waiting.”
With a presidential election pending, there has been a steady increase in voter interest in recent months, Prystal said.
“When there is a presidential election you notice more turnout,” Prystal said. “For the past week we've been pretty busy. There has definitely been an increase in registrations, there is no question about that.”
While the presidential race is a major concern to many voters, Prystal said that state and local elections also contribute to the increased turnout for registration.
Over the past few weeks - and on Saturday - Prystal said he's seen an increase in women and young people registering to vote. Among those who came out Saturday were Josh Bishop, 19, and Bill Weiman, 20, both of Auburn. Both said the troubled economy gave them a push to get registered before the deadline passed.
“The recession,” Weiman said. “The economy is going downhill. You've got to vote.
Bishop echoed many of the same sentiments, and had his mind made up in what will be his first opportunity to vote in a presidential election.
“I definitely plan to vote,” Bishop said. “This'll be the first time I get to vote for president. I'm definitely going to vote for Obama.”
While the main focus of Saturday was to offer new voters the chance to register and ensure their voices do get heard, Prystal said that there was other information to be conveyed as well.
This year, Prystal said there has been an increase in absentee ballots, a fact that can also be attributed to the presidential election.
“This year we've had a lot more absentee ballots,” Prystal said. “We've had 1,700 so far. Most years, we have between 1,400 and 1,500 for recent elections.”
Prystal said that there is still time to register for absentee ballots, which must be mailed to the board of elections at least seven days before the election or delivered at least one day before the election.
And Prystal wanted to remind voters that they will see some changes this year, including new voting machines that will be handicap accessible and some changes to polling places.
“We've had to consolidate a few locations this year,” Prystal said. “Some places like the Fredericks Street Firehouse aren't available, and to make sure that all the polling places are handicap accessible we've had to change a few things. But we'll have more poll workers to help and make sure everything goes smoothly.”
“People were here before we even opened,” said Tom Prystal, Jr., deputy commissioner of the Cayuga County Board of Elections, “People were here at noon waiting.”
With a presidential election pending, there has been a steady increase in voter interest in recent months, Prystal said.
“When there is a presidential election you notice more turnout,” Prystal said. “For the past week we've been pretty busy. There has definitely been an increase in registrations, there is no question about that.”
While the presidential race is a major concern to many voters, Prystal said that state and local elections also contribute to the increased turnout for registration.
Over the past few weeks - and on Saturday - Prystal said he's seen an increase in women and young people registering to vote. Among those who came out Saturday were Josh Bishop, 19, and Bill Weiman, 20, both of Auburn. Both said the troubled economy gave them a push to get registered before the deadline passed.
“The recession,” Weiman said. “The economy is going downhill. You've got to vote.
Bishop echoed many of the same sentiments, and had his mind made up in what will be his first opportunity to vote in a presidential election.
“I definitely plan to vote,” Bishop said. “This'll be the first time I get to vote for president. I'm definitely going to vote for Obama.”
While the main focus of Saturday was to offer new voters the chance to register and ensure their voices do get heard, Prystal said that there was other information to be conveyed as well.
This year, Prystal said there has been an increase in absentee ballots, a fact that can also be attributed to the presidential election.
“This year we've had a lot more absentee ballots,” Prystal said. “We've had 1,700 so far. Most years, we have between 1,400 and 1,500 for recent elections.”
Prystal said that there is still time to register for absentee ballots, which must be mailed to the board of elections at least seven days before the election or delivered at least one day before the election.
And Prystal wanted to remind voters that they will see some changes this year, including new voting machines that will be handicap accessible and some changes to polling places.
“We've had to consolidate a few locations this year,” Prystal said. “Some places like the Fredericks Street Firehouse aren't available, and to make sure that all the polling places are handicap accessible we've had to change a few things. But we'll have more poll workers to help and make sure everything goes smoothly.”
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