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Guest Column: Leslie Danks Burke

“How to vote”

Leslie Danks Burke is running for New York State Senate in the 58th district, which includes Schuyler, Chemung, Steuben and Yates counties, and part of Tompkins. Her office is at 700 N. Franklin St., Watkins Glen.

WATKINS GLEN, Sept. 17, 2020 -- Around here, Election Day means a lot of things to a lot of people, but it usually includes food. It’s no accident that we vote just after the harvest and right before Thanksgiving. Early American voters were farmers and this was their first break in months. "The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November" worked out well for a full day trip to the polls and a full day back, fit in between church on Sunday, and market day on Wednesday.

Today, we see the harvest in pie sales at polling booths, and chicken dinners in firehouses. We can’t vote more than once, but we can visit as many Election Day food fundraisers as we want, in churches, community centers and Legion halls throughout our region. My home Rotary chapter hosts an all-day Pancake Breakfast to raise money for scholarships. People from all walks of life and political persuasions line up for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between, of pancakes, bacon, eggs and juice. Folks linger over coffee for hours, catching up with acquaintances and friends. Nonpartisan camaraderie and civility generally prevail, and the occasional good-natured ribbing over local fruit pie in one town after another for miles on end encapsulates -- to me -- how we Americans peacefully transfer power through elections.

The COVID Pandemic means a very different kind of Election Day this November 3rd. I will miss those pancakes, but I am uplifted by the efforts New York State has made to ensure that each voter can cast his or her ballot safely. We can vote by absentee ballot, mailed in or dropped off to the board of elections. We can vote instead in person through early voting during the week leading up to the election. We can vote in person on Election Day itself. County Boards of Elections have done a terrific job managing the mechanics of the options, but the process can be confusing to some.

Here are pointers to consider as you make your voting plan over the coming weeks.

First, make sure that you are registered to vote and then make sure your family members, friends, and neighbors are registered voters too! The last day you can register to vote is October 9th.

If you don't want to vote in person, mail in an application for an absentee ballot. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, any New Yorker can apply for an absentee ballot. Submit your absentee ballot application well in advance. The final deadline to apply online, postmark, email, or fax your application for an absentee ballot is October 27th.

You may also personally visit your County Board of Elections to apply for your absentee ballot, up until November 2nd.

If you’re applying for an absentee ballot because you’re hesitant to go to the polls in person during the pandemic (and anyone may vote absentee for this reason this year), then check off “temporary illness or physical disability” as your reason for applying. Make sure you read all the directions when filling out your absentee ballot -- you don’t want to miss anything!

This November is the most important election of our lives. From the Presidential race through local races just like mine, the future of our country and community is at stake. Make sure your voice is heard, regardless of which party you support, by voting early, requesting a mail-in ballot, or heading out to the polls on Election Day, November 3rd.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”

Vote.

Photo: Leslie Danks Burke


Schuyler County Officials

Legislature Members:

Top row (from left): Carl Blowers, Jim Howell, Michael Lausell, Van Harp

Bottom row: Gary Gray, David Reed, Phil Barnes, Mark Rondinaro

   
   

Legislature Chairman

Carl Blowers, 535-6174 or 237-5469

Legislature Members:

Gary Gray, 292-9922

Van Harp, 329-2160

Jim Howell, 535-7266 or 227-1141

David M. Reed, 796-9558

Michael Lausell, 227- 9226

Phil Barnes, Watkins Glen, 481-0482

Mark Rondinaro, 398-0648

County Clerk: Theresa Philbin, 535-8133

Sheriff: William Yessman, 535-8222

Undersheriff: Breck Spaulding, 535-8222

County Treasurer: Holley Sokolowski, 535-8181

District Attorney: Joseph Fazzary, 535-8383

 

State, Federal Officials for Schuyler County

Sen. Charles E. Schumer

United States Senate
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-3201
DC Phone: 202-224-6542
DC Fax: 202-228-3027
Email Address: http://schumer.senate.gov/webform.html

Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand

United States Senate
478 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
DC Phone: 202-224-4451
Website: http://gillibrand.senate.gov/

State Senator Tom O'Mara -- Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Yates, western Tompkins, Enfield, Ithaca (Town and City), Newfield, Ulysses(Trumansburg)

Room 812, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: (518) 455-2091
Fax: (518) 426-6976
www.omara.nysenate.gov

Assemblyman Phil Palmesano-- Steuben, Schuyler, Yates
Room 723, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
Phone: (518) 455-5791
Website: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Phillip-A-Palmesano

 

© The Odessa File 2017
Charles Haeffner
P.O. Box 365
Odessa, New York 14869

E-mail publisher@odessafile.com
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