Nassau, Suffolk post corrected lists of polling sites
Long Islanders looking up their polling places online for the November elections will find more accurate listings after some voters complained that a state elections website showed outdated sites.
Before Tuesday night, the state Board of Elections website displayed polling sites that Nassau and Suffolk County voters had been assigned for the June 23 federal and state primaries, election officials said.
The website was updated after the county boards of elections sent the state their lists of general election sites Tuesday, officials said.
In normal years, most Long Island voters likely would have the same polling places for primaries and general elections, officials said.
But the coronavirus pandemic caused the local boards of elections to consolidate polling places for the primary, from 705 to 279 Islandwide. That was because many poll workers declined to work because of the pandemic, officials said.
Suffolk Democratic elections commissioner Anita Katz said Suffolk's general election sites are expected to be the same as usual in November.
Nassau Democratic elections commissioner Jim Scheuerman said some Nassau sites have yet to be finalized.
Cara Mayrick, a Glen Cove Democrat, said she was concerned when she discovered Monday that her polling place was listed incorrectly as the Connelly School in Glen Cove, a temporary site she used in the June 23 primary. Mayrick, a clinical social worker, has voted for 12 years at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Glen Cove in primary and general elections.
If the proper general election polling places hadn't been posted, "many people would not have been able to vote this November,“ Mayrick, 61, said Wednesday.
The issue comes as voters across the nation are expressing concern about voting procedures this fall, given the pandemic.
On Tuesday, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he was suspending some operational changes after Democrats had complained that the changes caused disruptions that threatened mail-in voting.
The state elections website is the primary resource for New Yorkers to look up their registration and polling place online. The websites for the Nassau and Suffolk elections boards direct voters to the state website for that information.
The state Board of Elections website is based on data sent by county boards of elections, and state officials regularly reach out for updated information, spokeswoman Cheryl Couser said.
Katz said it took longer than usual to set the 338 total polling sites for November because of the pandemic.
Scheuerman said Nassau officials sent the state an updated list of general election polling places on Tuesday after inquiries by Newsday.
Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
