There likely has never been an Election Day as anti-climactic and confounding as this.
Sure, there are returns to be had. But elections officials estimate that absentee ballots will account for upward of 50% of votes cast in some races.
As of mid-day Tuesday, the Monroe County Board of Elections had received 55,000 absentee ballots between the presidential and local primaries, and one special election. Counting of those ballots won't begin until next week.
Results: For the latest primary election results after the polls close.
The day was marked by confusion, as many voters hadn't realized or say they weren't informed that their regular polling site had moved.
"There were some challenges today for sure," said Lisa Nicolay, the Republican elections commissioner for Monroe County.
Sites were dramatically reduced because of the pandemic. Elections officials were hopeful that absentee and early voting would head off crowds, but there were reports of sporadic congestion. There was a mix-up in the 56th Senate District with ballots being handed to the wrong voters: "We don't know how many," Nicolay said of the number of ballots involved. "I think it has to be very few."
She issued a statement Tuesday evening stating, "Isolated incidents of human error were found and corrected." Commissioners and staff conducted site visits throughout the day, and "investigated and dealt with" those matters reported to them.
"There's just a lot of issues that have taken place," said Demond Meeks, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the 137th Assembly District. "It's a really sad day here in Rochester."
Or it was, as his opponent, Ernest Flagler described, mostly run-of-the-mill Election Day hiccups exacerbated by the polling site shakeup and separate ballots for the presidential and local elections.
Meeks and Flagler are running against Ann C. Lewis and Silvo Orsi to succeed longtime Assemblyman David Gantt, who is retiring.
There were lines at Arnett Branch Library to start the day, with the polling site opening anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes late, according to Nicolay and Meeks, respectively. Other backups occurred at the Boys & Girls Clubs on Genesee Street, Ark of Jesus Ministries on North Winton, in Ogden for the highway superintendent primary, and at Lake Riley Lodge at Cobbs Hill, which temporarily ran out of ballots Tuesday evening.
Signage at the polls varied. Some of the new sites were not on bus lines. And while a last-minute change by the state allowed voters to mail their absentee ballots on Tuesday, the Board of Elections website continued to advise that the deadline had passed on Monday.
As of 6 p.m., there were no reports of turnout. Historically, the Board of Elections has issued such Election Day reports at regular intervals beginning mid-afternoon.
More: Races to watch and what to know in Tuesday's primaries
Contact reporter Brian Sharp at bdsharp@gannett.com or at 585-258-2275. Follow him on Twitter @sharproc. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
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Confusion and delay: Election Day 2020 - Democrat & Chronicle
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