Voter registration deadline is this Saturday; early voting to begin
LITTLE VALLEY — Cattaraugus County Election Commissioners Kevin Burleson and Cortney Spittler announced that this Saturday is the last day to register to be eligible to vote in the upcoming primary elections in the city of Olean and towns of Great Valley, Dayton and Machias.
Tuesday, June 24, is primary election day in New York state. Voter registration forms are available at the Board of Elections office at 207 Rock City St., Suite 100, Little Valley, or at town and village clerks and county post offices. Forms are also available for download from the New York State Board of Elections website or at cattco.org. In addition, voters may also register online through the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
City of Olean Republicans will hold a primary to choose between challenger Amy B. Sherburne and incumbent William J. Aiello. Dayton Republicans will choose from among Crystal Abers, Aaron Huber and Thomas J. Chupa as their town supervisor candidate and select two of four candidates — Donald L. Bartlett Jr., Brett J. Zarczynski, Jeffrey A. Steward and Christine Rupp — to run for two open council seats on the November ballot.
Machias Republicans will also select two of four council candidates: Joy R. Burch, Robert M. Shenk, Thomas C. Reese and Joshua D. Burch.
There will be a single Democratic primary in Great Valley for a town justice position. Candidates are Marcy L. Brown and Joshua J. Harrison.
There are no county-wide primaries.
To be eligible to vote at early voting or election day, a new voter must be registered by June 14 in the municipalities and parties holding a primary. (Those who were previously registered and wished to have changed their party enrollment must have done so by Feb. 14.) Eligible voters may vote early, however, those who register on June 14, the first day of Early Voting, will have to vote by affidavit ballot. Persons who vote during the early voting period are NOT eligible to vote on Election Day (June 24) or on a subsequent day of early voting.
“You can choose to vote early via early mail or absentee ballot (if you qualify by application), vote early in person, or vote in person on Election Day. You can apply for an early mail or absentee ballot on the New York Elections website at least 10 days before the election, or in-person at our office until June 23,” Spittler said. “Those ballots then need to be received by your county Board of Elections by June 24.”
New York state voters are no longer permitted to cast a ballot on a voting machine if they have already been issued an absentee ballot for that election to prevent double voting. Voters who have already been issued an absentee ballot can still vote in-person using an affidavit ballot.
Early voting is set for Saturday through June 22 at two locations: the Cutco Theater at Jamestown Community College Cattaraugus Campus in Olean and in the gymnasium of the former Little Valley School, 207 Rock City St.
Hours are as follows:
• Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Monday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, noon to 8 p.m.
• June 18, noon to 8 p.m.
• June 19, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• June 20, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• June 21, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• June 22, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sample ballots for each election district are available at cattco.org and will be available at the early voting sites. Information on early voting hours are available at the county’s website or by calling the Board of Elections at (716) 938-2400 through 2403.