Counties in New York say they want to make sure the state doesn’t leave them stuck with the bill for early voting.

State lawmakers have approved the early voting legislation, joining most other states in allowing citizens to cast their ballots before the scheduled election day.

But the State Association of Counties says it could cost between a half million to a million dollars per county outside of New York City to run early voting.  The costs would come from staffing and securing early voting locations, printing and counting the additional ballots and the ever-changing issue of protecting votes from hacking.

NY-SAC requests the state work with the local boards of elections to tie down the full fiscal impact of early voting and make sure the funding is put in the 2019-2020 budget to pay for those costs.

Republicans in Albany are also bucking the early voting trend, questioning the need for advance voting.

Supporters say allowing residents to make their decision prior to the scheduled election day could go along way in improving New York State’s abysmal voter turnout numbers.

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