Nassau Republicans outpaced Democrats during the eight days of early voting, casting the most ballots for county executive, district attorney and other races, according to data from the Board of Elections.
Nearly 39,100 Republicans had turned out as of Saturday evening, compared with slightly more than 34,300 Democrats and more than 14,700 independent voters. While Republicans make up just 31% of active Nassau voters, they have made up 43% of early voters so far. Independent voters made up 16%, the data showed.
In Suffolk County, voters are spread almost equally, with a third registered as Democrats, a third Republican and a third independent. In the eight days of early voting, Democrats in Suffolk outpaced Republicans with just over 20,950 votes, compared with almost 17,500 from GOP voters. Nearly 10,600 independent voters have cast their ballots so far, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections.
The last day for early voting in both counties was Sunday.
Election Day is Tuesday, and voters can find their designated polling site online at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.
Since local elections are held in off years, without a presidential election on the ballot, turnout is typically lower. Of the more than 2,100,000 active voters across Nassau and Suffolk counties, just 7% of voters have voted early in Nassau and 4% in Suffolk.
In New York City, among nearly 5,000,000 active voters — 12% — had voted early as of Saturday.
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Voter turnout in Long Island local elections has averaged about 30%, versus 70% for presidential elections, Mike Dawidziak, a pollster and Republican strategist, told Newsday last month.
“Most people don’t even know there’s an election coming up,” Dawidziak said. “They’re going to hear far more about the New York City races than races in Nassau or Suffolk.”
Among the races in Nassau is the competition for county executive, where the incumbent, Republican Bruce Blakeman, is vying for reelection against a Democratic Nassau legislator, Seth Koslow. Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly is also running for reelection, against Democrat Nicole Aloise, a Nassau County prosecutor.
In Suffolk, District Attorney Ray Tierney and Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. are both running uncontested. Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine has two more years before the next election.
