Thousands of voters across Westchester and the Hudson Valley voted early for the very first time in New York state.
Instead of handling crowds for one Election Day, poll workers juggled nine days to accommodate voters.
In Westchester County, just over 21,000 of the more than 595,000 registered voters took advantage of the early voting. In Rockland, almost 7,000 of the registered 197,000 voters cast their ballots early. In Orange County, 6,100 turned out to vote from a total of 226,000 registered voters.
Although it may not likely be known about the true cost of early voting until Election Day is over, some estimates say that in the first year, statewide early voting cost $12.5 million Over the next 10 years, those estimates could be $85 million.
The early voting helped shine some light on who showed up. In Orange County, voters over the age of 50 cast their ballots 4 ½ times more than voters under 50.
Statewide, most people voted early on the last possible day – Sunday.