It’s that time of year again…
So, who’s on the ballot? What races are happening in our voting districts? I will again point you, my dear readers, to the Ontario County Board of Elections website, where you can find sample ballots, your polling place, and more.
Here is page one of the sample ballot for Manchester:
As you can see, the following offices and candidates are included in the current contest:
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Kathy Hochul/Antonial Delgado (Dem, incumbent)
Lee Zeldin/Alison Esposito (Rep)
State Comptroller
Thomas DiNapoli (Dem, incumbent)
Paul Rodriguez (Rep)
State Attorney General
Letitia James (Dem, incumbent)
Michael Henry (Rep)
United States Senator Representing NY
Charles Schumer (Dem, incumbent)
Joe Pinion (Rep)
Diane Sare (LaRoche)
NY State Supreme Court Justice, 7th Judicial District (TWO vacancies; vote for up to two candidates)
Roman Misula (Dem)
Maroun Ajaka (Dem)
James Vazzana (Rep)
Jason Cook (Rep)
Congressional Representative, 24th District of NY (in the House of Representatives/Washington DC)
Steven Holden (Dem)
Claudia Tenney (Rep, incumbent)
NY State Senator, 54th District of NY (in NY State Senate/Albany)
Kenan Baldridge (Dem)
Pamela Helming (Rep, incumbent)
NY State Assembly Member, 131st District of NY (in NY State Assembly/Albany)
Jeff Gallahan (Rep, incumbent)
Ontario County Sheriff (incumbent Phil Povero is not running)
Steven Slavny (Dem)
David Cirencione (Rep)
Ontario County Treasurer
Gary Baxter (Rep, incumbent)
Ontario County Coroner (TWO vacancies; vote for up to two candidates)
Scott Avedisian (Rep, incumbent)
Terri Haskins (Rep)
Manchester Town Clerk
Devon Hayes (Rep, incumbent)
Manchester Town Justice
Eric Schaertl (Rep, incumbent)
Manchester Town Board/Council (“Councilmember” on ballot)
Scott DeCook (Rep, incumbent)
Also appearing on the ballot is a proposition concerning the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Clean Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. This question will be on the back of your ballot.
The proposition is a quick read — a very quick read:
New York State seeks to create debt in the amount of $4,200,000,000 for “restoration and flood risk reduction” (at least $1,100,000,000), “open space and land conservation and recreation” (at least $650,000,000), “climate change mitigation” (at least $1,500,000,000) and “water quality improvement and resilient infrastructure” (at least $650,000,000). This is literally the extent of the plan as proposed. There is no further breakdown of spending, nor are any definitions offered. It is worth noting that interest rates are the highest they have been in a long time and will impact the ability of the state to repay this debt. Please consider this proposition seriously before making a decision.
Polls will be open from 6am to 9pm on Tuesday, November 8th. This year, I signed up to be an election inspector and will be working the polls in Manchester.
The Daily Messenger will be posting results on this page. In addition, election results (specific to each polling place) are read aloud to the public at each polling site after polls close at 9pm. The numbers read will be the totals for each polling site (although they will be slightly incomplete, as write-in, absentee, mail-in, and affidavit ballots are tallied separately).
Other things to note:
The ballots for this election are huge — 24” long! They will be difficult to feed into the voting machines. Please take your time and be careful when you insert your ballot into the Dominion machine. Voters will be provided with UP TO THREE ballots. So, if you mess up your first one, please see the election inspectors and ask for another. If all three are rendered unusable, there will be nothing else they can do to help you.
Filled-out absentee ballots MAY BE SUBMITTED at your designated polling place on Election Day. No additional ballot will be provided in these cases.
Election inspectors are NOT ALLOWED to touch or look at your ballot once it has been filled out! Even if you ask for help feeding your ballot into the machine, your election inspectors should make every reasonable effort to avoid looking at your ballot. If you have reason to believe that a poll worker has violated your privacy in this regard, please call the Board of Elections at 585-396-4005 and let them know.
Your party registration does not compel you to vote along party lines. If you are a registered Democrat, you can vote for independents, republicans — anyone you want. (Of course, the same goes for registered Republicans, Independents, etc.)
If your name does not appear in the polling book at your designated voting place, or you are on the list of early voters, or you asked for an absentee ballot but come to vote in person instead, or there is some other irregularity that cannot be reconciled, then you will be asked to call the Board of Elections before you are given an affidavit ballot. Affidavit ballots are collected separately from regular ballots. The Board of Elections will ensure that you have not already submitted a vote (absentee, early, etc.) before counting your vote. This process must be completed within 48 hours of the election.
Electioneering is not allowed within 100’ of polling sites. As long as you are not advocating for candidates (this includes wearing paraphernalia) or interfering with voters who are standing in line or filling out their ballots, you are legally allowed to loiter around polling places.
Videography is considered a form of speech and is protected under the First Amendment, as long as it does not interfere with the voting process or violate the privacy of voters as they fill out and submit ballots. This includes your own ballot — taking video or pictures of your own completed ballot is prohibited, as this is considered cronyism.