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Elections keep getting pushed back

A number of local and state elections that were to take place this spring have been delayed.

Originally, villages that hold elections in March were set for March 18. In Chautauqua County that included Westfield and Sinclairville. All other villages in the county moved their votes to November. In Cattaraugus County, Gowanda, South Dayton, as well as Cattaraugus, Delevan, Ellicottville, Franklinville and Little Valley were all scheduled to have March elections.

In March Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered village elections be delayed until April 28, the same date as when the state was scheduled to hold its Democratic Presidential Primary. That was also the date Cuomo had scheduled a vote for the vacant 27th Congressional District, which includes much of Erie County, including the towns of Brant, Evans, Collins and North Collins. The district also includes all of Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston counties, parts of Ontario County and a slight part of Monroe County. The seat was previously held by Chris Collins, a Republican, who stepped down and was later sent to prison for insider trading. There were also three vacant state Senate seats and one vacant Assembly seat which were scheduled to be filled April 28.

Last weekend, Cuomo pushed the state Democratic primary to June 23, which would align it with the congressional and legislative primaries in New York. That date is also the date for the vacant 27th Congressional District, and the other vacant state senate and assembly seats.

While the Congressional and Legislative primaries are taking place June 23, a decision on village elections rescheduled date has not been announced. One possibility is they may take place on June 16. This is the date the New York State Conference of Mayors prefers.

“As a way to avoid the complications of holding the election on the same day as the June 23 presidential and state primaries, NYCOM has requested that the governor reschedule the postponed village elections for June 16 (which is the statutory date for this year’s regularly scheduled June village elections),” wrote NYCOM Executive Director Peter Baynes.

School elections have been delayed as well to at least June 1, although a final date has not been set.

Because of the pandemic, Democratic Election Commissioner Norman P. Green is urging Democratic voters to vote by absentee ballot. The ballots can be downloaded from the Chautauqua County Board of Elections website, www.votechautauqua.com. Ballot instructions say the ballot must be postmarked no later than seven days before the election date.

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