County Election Commissioners Norman Green and Brian Abram announce there is a total of 75,930 active registered voters in Chautauqua County who are eligible to cast ballots in the Nov. 6, 2018 General Election. There are 24,944 registered Democrats and 25,590 Republicans.

Hours to Vote? Polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The busiest times to avoid will be 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., Noon to 1 p.m. and in the evening during the dinner hour.  All county poll sites will be open.   Voters who have not moved will vote at the same site as last year.

Eligibility to Vote: Any Chautauqua County citizen at least age 18 the date of the General Election who has previously registered with the Board of Elections and has not moved is eligible to vote and will be included in the poll books.

Is it too late to register to vote?  The last day to register to vote was Friday Oct. 12th.  However, voters should check their voter status by visiting www.votechautauqua.com  and click on “Personal Voter Lookup” to access their current voting record or they should call the Board of Elections at 716-753-4580.

What if the “Personal Voter Lookup” info says you are an “inactive” voter?   Any voter who has previously registered to vote and is now “Inactive” due to the Board of Elections sent mail having been returned by the U.S. Post Office, should plan to vote by “Provisional Affidavit Ballot” on Election Day at the poll site assigned to service the voter’s current Election Day residence.

Moved? A registered voter who has moved within the county and who has failed to notify the Board of Elections must go to their new polling place and fill out a provisional affidavit ballot that will be counted along with the absentees, once the voter is proven to be eligible.

Will any voter be turned away from the polls on Election Day? No voter with a residence in Chautauqua County will be turned away from a poll site assigned to service that voter.  All voters within any county election district will be either provided an opportunity to sign in the poll book of registered voters where the election inspector finds the voters name, or the voter will be provided a “Provisional Affidavit Ballot”.  The provisional ballot will be researched after the election and if the voter is found to be eligible, the voter’s provisional ballot will be opened, votes counted and votes will be added to the Election Day totals.  Following the election, the “Provisional Affidavit Ballot” voter will be notified if their ballot was counted and will also be notified that the Board of Elections has update their voter registration and/or registered the voter for future elections.

How to see a sample of the ballot? Visit www.votechautauqua.com  and click on “Sample Ballots” to view the Election Day ballot.

Who is on the Ballot? Candidates on the 2018 ballot have been nominated by ten different statewide political parties including Democratic (DEM), Republican (REP), Conservative (CON), Green (GRE), Working Families (WOR), Independence (IND), Women’s Equality (WEP), Reform (REF), Serve America Movement (SAM) and Libertarian (LBT).

ELECTIONS THAT HAVE MORE THAN ONE CANDIDATE FOR EACH OFFICE

2018 Candidates for Governor: (Clockwise from upper left) Andrew Cuomo, Howie Hawkins, Stephanie Miner, Larry Sharpe, Cynthia Nixon (was working families candidate but withdrew from race following loss of Democratic primary), and Marc Molinaro.

NYS Governor and Lieutenant Governor:

• Andrew M Cuomo and Kathy C Hochul (DEM-WOR-IND-WEP)
• Marc Molinaro and Julie Killian (REP-CON-REF)
• Howie Hawkins and Jia Lee (GRE)
• Stephanie A Miner and Michael J Volpe (SAM)
• Larry Sharpe and Andrew C Hollister (LBT)

NYS Comptroller:

• Thomas P DiNapoli (DEM-WOR-IND-WEP-REF)
• Jonathan Trichter (REP-CON)
• Mark Dunlea (GRE)
• Cruger E Gallaudet (LBT)

NYS Attorney General:

• Letitia A James (DEM-WOR-IND)
• Keith Wofford (REP-CON);
• Michael Sussman (GRE)
• Christopher B Garvey (LBT)
• Nancy Sliwa (REF)

United States Senator:

• Kirsten E Gillibrand (DEM-WOR-IND-WEP)
• Chele Chiavacci Farley (REP-CON-REF);

Tracy Mitrano and Tom Reed

NYS 8^th Judicial District State Supreme Court Justice:

(Vote for any Two)     

• Paula L Feroleto (DEM-REP-CON);
• John M Curran (DEM-REP-CON)

Representative in Congress 23rd District:   

• Tracy Mitrano (DEM-WOR-WEP)
• Thomas W Reed II (REP-CON-IND)

Member of NYS Assembly 150th District:

• Judith S Einach (DEM-WOR-WEP)
• Andrew Goodell (REP-CON-IND)

Judith Einach and Andrew Goodell

County Sheriff:

• Joseph A Gerace (DEM-WOR-IND)
• James B Quattrone (REP-CON)

Portland Town Justice:

(Vote for any Two)

• Thomas S DeJoe (DEM-GRE-WOR-IND
• Michelle L Patterson (DEM-GRE-WOR)
• Daniel R Thompson (REP-CON-IND)

Ripley Town Justice: 

• John Hamels (DEM-GRE-WOR-IND)
• Lawrence M Freligh (REP-CON)

Chautauqua County Sheriff’s candidates Joseph Gerace (incument, left) and James Quattrone pause for a friendly photo with one another following their Meet the Candidates forum on Tuesday night at JCC.

Villenova Town Council – Vacancy:

• John Dudley Robinson Sr (DEM)
• Yvonne M Park (REP)

Mayville Village Mayor:

• Ken Shearer Jr (DEM)
• Richard Syper (REP)

Mayville Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Tim Jacobson (DEM)
• Diane Seaton (DEM)
• Eagle Harrington (REP)
• Martin Murphy (REP)
• Bill Ward (Write In)

ELECTIONS THAT HAVE ONLY ONE CANDIDATE FOR EACH OFFICE: 

NY State Senate 57th District:

• Catharine M Young (REP-CON-IND-REF)

Busti Town Justice:

• Lyle T Hajdu (REP)

Clymer Town Clerk – Vacancy:         

• Stephanie M Bailey (REP)

North Harmony Town Supervisor – Vacancy:

• Robert E Yates (REP)

North Harmony Town Council – Vacancy:

• Steven W Senske (DEM)

Pomfret Town Highway Superintendent – Vacancy:

• Jude A Gardner (DEM-REP-CON-WOR)

Pomfret Town Justice:

• Anthony J Pulci (REP-CON-IND)

Sherman Town Justice:

• Douglas A Neal (REP)

Villenova Town Justice:

• Ronald Lucas (DEM-REP)

Bemus Point Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Theodore W Farnham (REP)
• David I Lipsey (REP)

Celoron Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Kate Burnett (DEM)
• Norm Mattison (DEM)

Panama Village Mayor:

• William F Schneider (PAN)

Panama Village Trustee:

Jonathan G Weston (PAN)

Silver Creek Village Trustee:

(Vote for any Two)

• Marv Cummings (DEM-REP-CON)
• John Burt (DEM-REP-CON)

Where to see election results?   www.votechautauqua.com election night results starting at about 9:15 p.m.

The biggest primary races are in the Democratic party, where DEMOCRATIC REGISTERED VOTERS will be deciding between Cynthia Nixon and Andrew Cuomo for Governor and Kathy Hochul and Jumaane Williams for Lt. Governor. There’s also a crowded field of four candidates for Attorney General – including Sean Patrick Maloney, Letitia James, Leecia Eve, and Zephyr Teachout.

CONSERVATIVE REGISTERED VOTERS will be picking that party’s candidate for Sheriff choosing between Joseph Gerace and James Quattrone. Also, Ripley Conservative voters will pick between John Hamels and Lawrence Freligh for that town’s Conservative candidate.

· REPUBLICAN REGISTERED VOTERS IN BUSTI (Election District 3 Only) will choose between Randall Holcomb, Susan Drago and Douglas Schutte as to which of the two will represent them as party members for that election district on the GOP County Committee.

· INDEPENDENCE VOTERS IN PORTLAND AND RIPLEY will be deciding between Daniel Thompson, Michelle Patterson, and Thomas DeJoe for which two will be the Independence Party candidates for two open seats in November. In Ripley, Hamels and Freligh will again face off, but this time on the Independence line.

· REFORM PARTY is showcasing an Attorney General nomination runoff between Nancy Sliwa, Mike Diederich and Christopher Garvey. None of the three candidates are cross endorsed and only the winner will move on to the November ballot. In a party rule oddity, any voter not affiliated with one of the state’s other seven major parties may vote to decide the Reform Party candidate.

The state’s primary normally would fall on Tuesday Sept. 11th. But with that date being the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the second day of Rosh Hashanah, state lawmakers decided to move the primary back two days.

Polls are open Noon to 9 p.m. Thursday.

People unsure of their party affiliation can visit votechautauqua.com  and click on “Personal Voter Lookup” to access the voter’s current voting record.