Westchester lawmakers are unanimously supporting a proposed law to give voters more options for returning ballots during the election this November.

All 16 Westchester legislators have signed a letter to lawmakers up in Albany encouraging them to pass a law allowing voters to cast their absentee ballots through drop boxes this fall.

 

The law would give the local board of elections the power to set up these secure boxes.

Voting officials worry about a massive uptick in absentee ballots this November as people avoid voting in person over coronavirus health concerns.

A slashed county budget and now concerns over the United States Postal Service's ability to safely deliver ballots could also play factors in an increase in voting absentee.

Officials are hoping the drop boxes will not only give voters confidence but avoid the issues seen in the June primary, including a lack of poll workers, consolidated voting sites, and extremely long lines to cast a ballot.

Even without a state law, the Westchester Election Information Gathering Task Force put a report together earlier this month recommending the county look into buying and installing drop boxes on their own.

County Executive George Latimer responded to the report on social media asking the governor to mandate drop boxes.

New York recently allowed voters concerned about illness, including coronavirus, to request an absentee ballot for November.

Some local voters tell News 12 they support the plan. "The mail, while I have pretty much confidence in it at this point, it is being undermined and that's troubling to a lot of people which is why I would prefer to vote in person.” 

"There are a lot of people who can't get out, and if you're in proximity of a place, you're more likely to vote than you're not to vote; so anything they can do to get people out to vote, I'm for," says Jackie Copeland, of White Plains.

While the battle for secure voting continues in New York, Connecticut is using drop boxes already.