Early voting climbs sharply in Suffolk over last midterm election

Early voting in Suffolk County increased 82% over the last midterm election in 2022, according to data provided today by the Suffolk County Board of Elections. More than 178,600 Suffolk residents voted early during the nine-day early-voting period that ended Sunday, compared with the 98,226 people who voted early in 2022.

In Riverhead Town, 5,210 residents voted early this year, a roughly 53% increase over the 3,413 who voted early in 2022, according to a report provided by the Suffolk County Democratic Committee. The committee’s report breaks down early-voting participation by town and by congressional, State Senate and Assembly district.

Both the Democratic and Republican county committee chairpersons expressed encouragement heading into Tuesday’s election.

“We are very encouraged by our Democratic turnout and we are hoping that the enthusiasm we have seen will carry over to Election Day and propel our candidates to victory,” Schaffer said in a text message Monday.

“I am cautiously optimistic about the early voting numbers heading into Election Day, specifically in Riverhead where we are pushing hard to elect Ken Rothwell town supervisor,” Suffolk Republican chairperson Jesse Garcia said via text Monday.  

“Given all the talk of Democratic enthusiasm, I expected a considerably wider early voting gap,” Garcia said. “We are taking nothing for granted, but these numbers give us reason for confidence—and every reason to keep working.”

Garcia said his party has made “meaningful progress” encouraging Republicans to vote early. However, he said, Election Day remains a major part of the party’s turnout effort.

Garcia said he expected 1,000 volunteers on the streets Tuesday and even more working the phones to turn out voters for Bruce Blakeman and the Republican slate.

The increases come amid greater early-voting participation statewide. More than 1.7 million New Yorkers voted during the early-voting period, according to State Board of Elections data. In 2022, the statewide early in-person total was approximately 1.18 million.

In Riverhead, enrolled Democrats narrowly outnumbered enrolled Republicans among early voters. The report counted 1,884 Democrats and 1,796 Republicans, a difference of 88. Democrats represented 36.2% of participants and Republicans 34.5%.

Unaffiliated voters accounted for another 1,218 participants, or 23.4% of Riverhead’s early voters. 

Across Suffolk, Democrats accounted for 74,261 early voters, or 41.6%, compared with 57,029 Republicans, or 31.9%. Another 37,874 early voters were unaffiliated.

Democratic early-voting participation countywide increased about 90% over 2022, compared with a 67% increase among Republicans.

In the First Congressional District, 104,643 residents voted early, about 77% more than in 2022. Democrats accounted for 40.6% of participants and Republicans 32.4%.

The First State Senate District recorded 44,457 early voters, an increase of about 72%. Democrats represented 44.3% and Republicans 28.9%.

In the Second Assembly District, 20,479 residents voted early, up about 77%. Republicans outnumbered Democrats, accounting for 38.4% of participants compared with Democrats’ 32.9%.

The committee’s report cautions that historical congressional and Assembly district figures use the district assignments in each year’s source files. Changes to those maps limit direct comparisons with 2022. The State Senate map remains the same, according to the report.

Party enrollment does not reveal how a voter cast a ballot. The report’s figures are participation counts rather than candidate vote totals.

The Suffolk County Board of Elections provided countywide figures Monday that matched the Democratic committee’s overall totals and Democratic and Republican enrollment counts for both years. The Riverhead Town and legislative-district breakdowns cited in this story come from the committee’s report. A separate early-voting report requested from the Suffolk County Republican Committee had not been provided as of Monday afternoon.

Early-voting participation in Riverhead and Suffolk remained below the 2024 presidential-election totals. Riverhead’s count was about 32% lower than in 2024, while Suffolk’s was about 38% lower.