Polling Places to Consolidate for Democratic Primary
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be far fewer polling places for in-person voting on the East End in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 23.
Voters registered with the Democratic Party should have received a letter from the Suffolk County Board of Elections this past week with information about where they should now vote.
Voters can also look up their new polling place online at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.
In addition to a presidential Democratic primary, there are also Democratic primaries for the East End’s First Congressional District, First State Senate District and for the North Fork’s Second State Assembly District.
Read more of our coverage of the 2020 Elections
The Suffolk County Board of Elections did not immediately respond to a request for a list of open East End polling sites. Their office can be reached at 631.852.4500.
In Southampton Town, there were 18 polling places open in the 2019 primary. This year there will be just four, according to Southampton Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Herr.
In Riverhead, there are just two polling places open, at the Glenwood Village Community Center in Riverhead and at the town’s senior center on Shade Tree Lane in Aquebogue.
In Southold Town, there are usually 11 polling places, said Southold Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathryn Casey Quigley. For this primary there will be just three polling places, and only two are on the mainland — at the Southold Recreation Center on Peconic Lane and at the Greenport Firehouse on Third Street. Fishers Island’s polling place will also be open.
“I’m told there will be signage at all the usual polling places indicating where they should go to vote and we also plan on asking committee leaders to stop by to make sure the sign is there and assess if there are any issues,” said Ms. Quigley on June 20. “I know there have been an unprecedented number of absentee ballots sent out, so we are hoping that mitigates lines and potential confusion.”
New York State mailed absentee ballot applications to all eligible voters earlier this spring to enable them to vote by mail if they do not want to risk going to the polls during the pandemic.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order June 7 allowing voters’ absentee ballots to be postmarked as late as Tuesday, June 23, the date of the primary.
Early voting will also continue Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be no early voting on Monday, June 22.
Voters can vote in any of the 13 early voting locations in Suffolk County, where a ballot will be printed for them based on their home voting district.
The early voting locations on the East End include the Southold Senior Center at 750 Pacific Street in Mattituck, Stony Brook Southampton College at 70 Tuckahoe Road in Southampton, the Riverhead Senior Center at 60 Shade Tree Lane in Aquebogue and Windmill Village at 219 Accabonac Road in East Hampton.
Read more of our coverage of the 2020 Elections
