Election day is just a week away and New York's county boards of election are prepping for what's expected to be a large turnout.
Oswego County Board of Elections Republican Commissioner Peggy Bickford says things at the office are hectic. Bickford has worked with the Oswego County board for 18 years and she says there is more interest this year than in at least the last three presidential elections.
"We have a pretty steady stream of people coming in to vote absentee," Bickford said. "That will knock it down a bit, but I’m thinking it’s going to be big. Big."
According to Bickford, Oswego County has already seen 2,000 new voter registrations since mid-September alone. So the county is ordering extra ballots after the New York State Board of Elections advised counties to do just that.
"People are just really interested in voting this year, they want their voice heard," Bickford said.
The board is also preparing the machines by testing them for accuracy, which Bickford says proves that claims about election rigging do not exist in the county or state.
"Our people are pretty good and there’s nothing to do with the machines that could go wrong with fraud; there’s no way for someone to fraudulently vote, I don’t believe," Bickford said.
Bickford also says she's skeptical of the concerns expressed about potential violence at the polls this year. But she says if that happens, the poll inspectors have been trained and are ready to alert the authorities.
