Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, and Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo have introduced legislation in response to the removal of the early voting polling location in the Town of Shelter Island. Under the bill, each town and city in counties that have a population of one million or more must have its own early voting polling site.
The State Legislature authorized early voting statewide during a nine-day period before any general, primary, or special election last year. The Suffolk County Board of Elections consequently designated 10 polling locations for early voting, one in each town. This year, the board of elections designated two additional early voting locations for the 2020 general election, but the early voting site on Shelter Island was eliminated.
Mr. Thiele, Mr. LaValle, and Mr. Palumbo wrote a joint letter to the Democratic and Republican commissioners of the board of elections calling that unacceptable, pointing out that it will force residents who want to vote early to board a ferry and pay a fare to vote in another town, which is even less desirable in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
