Franklin County voters participating in the Nov. 3 election this year will make decisions on more than just whom they vote for; they will also need to decide the method by which they will vote.

The coronavirus pandemic made in-person voting a potential danger, so the state has expanded absentee voting capabilities. Voters started applying for absentee ballots last week.

Franklin County Republican Election Commissioner Tracy Sparks said there has been lots of rumors and inaccurate news on a federal level, which has led to her board of elections receiving around 75 calls from concerned voters each day.

“There’s some issues with the post office,” Sparks said. “It’s been for several years now.”

She said if voters are worried about their absentee ballot not getting through the mail on time, they can hand it in in person. These can be dropped off on Election Day at their poll site or in the north end of the county at the board of elections office in Malone, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Nov. 2.

Sparks said the state is not allowing drop-off boxes. She said it was discussed in a state election commissioners’ conference, and issues of security and bipartisan access to the boxes kept that from happening.

So she said she will take two Saturdays and sit at the Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake town halls to accept absentee ballots.

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In person

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Sparks will be in Saranac Lake at 9 a.m. Oct. 3 until noon; then she will be in Tupper Lake from 1 to 4 p.m. On Oct. 10 she will be in Tupper Lake from 9 a.m. until noon; then she will be in Saranac Lake from 1 to 4 p.m.

She said she will place ballots in a locked box.

Sparks also said on Oct. 3 she will have voter registration forms with her. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 9.

Sparks said voters on Election Day, Nov. 3, can vote in person from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at their usual local polling sites.

She said 6-foot social distancing will be mandatory but that mask wearing, though encouraged, cannot be enforced.

“You can’t deny someone the right to vote because they aren’t wearing a mask,” Sparks said.

She said there will be masks at sites if someone forgoes theirs, but that if someone does not want to wear a mask, they cannot be required to.

She said voting will be done on distanced tables.

The distancing, she added, may create a wait. Franklin County will not have New York City levels of voters, but she said it may take longer than usual.

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Few early voters so far

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If people want to vote in-person but have concerns about the virus or longer wait times on Election Day, they should consider participating in early voting, she said.

Implemented last year, early voting allows people to fill out a ballot on any of nine days leading up to the election.

From Oct. 24 to Nov. 1. early voting will be available at 355 West Main St., Suite 161 in Malone.

The polling site will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday noon to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sparks said early voting is underutilized. Three hundred voters cast their ballots early in the general election last year and 46 people used it in this year’s Democratic presidential primary.

This may be in part because the only location available for early voting is in Malone.

Sparks said Franklin County will not have a south end early voting location, because she is not confident two locations can be operated securely.

Sparks lives in the southern end of the county and said she is “acutely aware” of the north-south difference in services issue. However, she said she does not believe this can be done safely.

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Getting an absentee ballot

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In New York, voters need an excuse to vote by absentee ballot. Due to COVID-19, the state is letting anyone request this mail-in ballot by checking the “temporary illness or physical disability” box on the absentee ballot application.

This is not “mail-in voting,” which would involve an automatic mass mailing of ballots to all registered voters, but an expansion of existing absentee ballot voting.

Sparks said the state could still decide to do a mass mailing but has not indicated it will. Sparks said her county is not equipped for mail-in voting.

An executive order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Aug. 20 expanded the absentee ballot COVID-19 exception and authorized voters to begin requesting absentee ballots starting then.

The executive order also allows ballots to be postmarked on the day of the Nov. 3 election, meaning that a full count of absentee ballots will not be available on election night.

An executive order passed on Monday asks county boards of elections to inform the state of their plans and needs by Sept. 20 so the state can “assist in ensuring adequate coverage.”

Sparks said the board will likely seek to temporarily increase its staff to help with opening mail and handling the phone lines. She said Democratic Election Commissioner Brandon John Varin, herself, and their two deputy commissioners will count the absentee ballots themselves, no one else.

Sparks said the Franklin County Board of Elections will send everyone a letter by Sept. 8 letting them know of all the deadlines.

The executive order on Monday also required counties to count votes faster, by requiring all objections to be made by the county board of elections in real time. Sparks said the board opens every absentee ballot and notifies voters if their ballot could not be counted because of an error or if it was voided for any reason.

According to the executive order, boards of elections must be ready to count votes and reconcile affidavit and absentee ballots by 48 hours after elections.

“This election is going to be one of the most critical in modern history,” Cuomo said in a press release. “It will be controversial. You already hear the statements questioning the vote, and the accuracy of the vote, and mail-in ballots. We want to make sure that every vote is counted; every voice is heard and that it’s fair and right and accurate. I’m issuing today’s executive order because we want boards of elections to count votes efficiently and we want them to get it right, but we want it done in a timely manner. We don’t want to hear after-the-fact excuses.”

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New voters, absentee voters

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Sparks said it looks like there will be around 5,000 more registered voters in the county this presidential election than in 2016, and said there will likely be many more absentee ballots to process this time, too.

In 2016, 17,000 people voted in the election, of 25,000 registered in the county. She said this year is on track to reach 30,000 registered.

In 2016 Franklin County sent out 1,064 absentee ballots in total. Sparks said the Democratic primary in June alone brought in 1,200 absentee ballots.

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Important Dates:

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Sept. 8 — Franklin County will send letter with deadlines

Oct. 9 — last day to register to vote. Mailed registrations need to be postmarked Oct. 9 and received no later than Oct. 14

Oct. 14 — deadline for change of address

Oct. 27 — deadline to postmark an absentee ballot application by mail

Nov. 2 — last day to apply in-person for an absentee ballot

Nov. 3 — Election Day

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Absentee ballot drop-off dates/times/locations:

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Oct. 3 — Saranac Lake Town Hall — 9 a.m. to noon

Tupper Lake Town Hall — 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Oct. 10 — Tupper Lake Town Hall — 9 a.m. to noon

Saranac Lake Town Hall — 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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Early voting dates/times:

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355 West Main St., Suite 161 in Malone

Oct. 24 — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Oct. 25 — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Oct. 26 — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oct. 27 — noon to 8 p.m.

Oct. 28 — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oct. 29 — noon to 8 p.m.

Oct. 30 — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oct. 31 — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nov. 1 — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.