As the General Election approaches, the Genesee County Board of Elections is committed to providing comprehensive information on voting, early voting, and registration deadlines. 

Please find the essential details below: 

Early Voting: 

Dates: Oct. 28 - Nov. 5 

Location: ARC Community Center, 38 Woodrow Rd., Batavia

Schedule:

• Saturday, Oct. 28: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 29: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Monday, Oct. 30: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 31: 12 - 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 1: 12 - 8 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 2: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 3: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 4: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Sunday, No. 5: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

General Election:

Date: Nov. 7

Polling Hours: 6 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Find Your Poll Site: Visit voterlookup.elections.ny.gov or call (585) 815-7804.

Absentee Ballot Information:

Call (585) 815-7804 or use the NYS Portal at absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov 

Key Dates:

• Oct. 23: Last day for the Board of Elections to receive an absentee ballot application and the last day for change of address to be received.
• Nov. 6: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot in person. The ballot must be received at the poll site or Board of Elections by 9 p.m. on Nov. 7.
• Nov. 7: Last day to postmark your ballot. The Board of Elections must receive it by Nov. 14. Military/Special Federal absentee ballots must be received by Nov. 20.

Registration Deadlines:

• Oct. 28: Last day to register to be eligible to vote in the 2023 General Election and the last day for the Board of Elections to receive a registration form. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Find registration forms at the Genesee County Board of Elections website. For questions or assistance, call the Genesee County Board of Elections at (585) 815-7804 or visit the Genesee County Board of Elections website.

Continuing the community service it has offered for years, the Western New York Independent Living Family of Agencies is enabling citizens with disabilities to participate in the electoral process by offering FREE curb-to-curb rides in its vans, one standard and one wheelchair-lift-equipped, to polling places in Erie, Niagara, and Genesee Counties.

This includes daytime rides to the Early Voting Sites through Friday November 4th: There are 11 in the Districts in the City of Buffalo, and 27 in the various other Erie County municipalities, four spread throughout Niagara County, and one site in Genesee County.  The addresses are found on the websites of your Boards of Elections. 

Also, of course, we offer voters with disabilities rides to their local polling places between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov.8.  Rides are offered on a first-come, first-served basis and seats are extremely limited!  We cannot guarantee they will be available if they are requested the day of the event. 

Please learn the address of your polling site and make your reservations as soon as possible at 716-836-0822, extension 108 or 150.

Voting is your right and duty as a citizen, and it is our pleasure to assist!

 

Early Voting

General Election Early Voting begins this Saturday, Oct. 24^th and will run for nine days prior to the General Election. The Early Voting location is at County Building 2, 3837 W. Main Street Road, Batavia.

The schedule for Early Voting is as follows:

• Oct. 24th -- 12 to 5 p.m.
• Oct. 25th -- 12 to 5 p.m.
• Oct. 26th  -- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Oct. 27th -- 12 to 8 p.m.
• Oct. 28th -- 12 to 8 p.m.
• Oct. 29th --  9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Oct. 30th --  9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Oct. 31st -- 12 to 5 p.m.
• Nov. 1st -- 12 to 5 p.m.

Public transportation to County Building 2 is available (fees are applicable) only for the weekday voting until 3 p.m. through Dial-A-Ride by appointment with RTS by calling (585) 343-3079 one day in advance.

Absentee Application Deadlines

The last day to postmark an application for an absentee ballot is Oct. 27^th and the last day to postmark an absentee ballot is Nov. 3^rd (Election Day).

Absentee applications can be applied for over the phone until Oct. 27^th by calling Board of Elections at (585) 815-7804. After the 27^th, applications will have to be filled out in person at Board of Elections, 15 Main St., Batavia, up until Nov. 2^nd.

Absentee ballots may be dropped off in person at Board of Elections up until close of polls on Nov. 3^rd (9 p.m.) or in any polling site absentee drop box – please ask a poll worker for assistance. If mailing an absentee ballot, it must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3^rd and returned no later than Nov. 10^th. 

Election Day Voting
All poll sites will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 3^rd from 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. If you have any questions regarding your poll site please call Board of Elections at (585) 815-7804.

ABSENTEE VOTING, ABSENTEE DROP-BOX OPTIONS, EARLY VOTING & DEADLINES

Absentee Voting Options & Drop-Box Information
Requests for absentee ballots for the General Election can be processed over the phone at (585) 815-7804, besides mailing, emailing us at: election@co.genesee.ny.us or faxing your application to (585) 344-8562.

You have many choices as to how you wish to return your ballot after it is completed.

• You may mail your ballot -- don’t forget to sign the ballot envelope and put a stamp on the outside.
• You may hand deliver your ballot to our office at County Building 1, 15 Main St., Batavia, NY 14020.
• There will be a designated Board of Elections drop box installed on the south side of County Building 1 (Ellicott Street side), until installation is complete, you may use the secure DMV drop-box on Court Street.
• You may bring your ballot any day of Early Voting where you can drop off your ballot into a designated absentee drop-box. A poll worker will assist you. See the dates and times below.
• You can bring your absentee ballot to any polling place on Election Day where you can drop off your ballot into a designated absentee ballot drop-box. A poll worker will assist you.

Early Voting
The General Election Early Voting begins on Saturday, Oct. 24^thand will run for nine days prior to the General Election. The Early Voting location is at County Building 2, 3837 W. Main Street Road, Batavia NY 14020. The schedule for Early Voting is as follows:

• Oct. 24th   12 - 5 p.m.
• Oct. 25th   12 - 5 p.m.
• Oct. 26th   9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Oct. 27th   12 – 8 p.m.
• Oct. 28th   12 – 8 p.m.
• Oct. 29th   9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Oct. 30th   9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Oct. 31st   1 – 5 p.m.
• Nov. 1^st      12 – 5 p.m.

Registration and Absentee Application Deadlines
The last day to register in-person at the Board of Elections is Oct. 9th. The last day to post mark a registration form is Oct. 9^thand must be received by Oct. 14^th. The last day to postmark an application for an absentee ballot is Oct. 27^th and the last day to postmark an absentee ballot is Nov. 3^rd (Election Day).

The post was formerly held by Joel Merle but he left after giving his two-week notice earlier this year and three candidates were interviewed to replace him: Mike Adams, Barb Czworka and Jeffery Fluker.

Adams, who says he was asked to apply, was appointed as highway superintendent in March.

Now he is seeking to retain the $52,000-a-year post, the term for which expires next November, and Czworka is running to unseat him. Fluker remains a trustee on the town board.

Whomever is elected tomorrow as highway superintendent will have to run again in 2019.

The highway superintendent’s main duties are keeping the roads in good shape – 30.84 miles of town roads and 30.08 miles of county roads must be mowed, salted and plowed. Plus the town must maintain its own roads and do culvert and sluice replacements as required. Responsibilities also include removal of downed trees from roadways, etc.

Bethany's approved highway department expenditures for 2018 amounted to $226,000. There’s about $240,000 in savings and the estimated department annual budget is about $800,000.

Adams said he’s by no means a politician but feels he has the credentials to do right by taxpayers.

The 61-year-old sole proprietor farmer raises beef and dairy replacement calves up to 4 months old, in addition to growing crops on more than 450 acres. He’s been a farmer since the age of 20, a testament, he says, to his strong work ethic.

He says the highway superintendent’s job is evaluated this way -- whether the work that needs to get done, is done, rather than by the clock. With that in mind, he’s proud of his brief tenure.

“I’ve been told that we got more work done this summer than has been done in a long time, and it’s more than surpassed people’s expectations,” Adams said.

Czworka worked in Bethany’s Highway Department as a laborer for 17 “full years” before being laid off.

“I’ve been a grunt, I’ve done the dirty work, I have been down on the asphalt with the guys,” Czworka said. “I can mow roadsides. I don’t just whack weeds and mow lawns."

Asked why she’s running, she says simply “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. ... I want to do a good job when I get in there. I feel I'm a hard worker."

The contest has gotten testy.

Adams and some of his supporters point out that he’s had a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) for more than 30 years.

“There ain’t much I can’t drive,” he says matter of factly, adding that he has the capability of a “backyard mechanic” to keep that equipment in working order.

Bethany operates a highway shop that employs Teamsters Union workers and Czworka has been a Teamsters steward.

After so many years, she knows every aspect of Bethany’s highway department and feels she has a lot to offer voters although she does not have a CDL.

“You can pull your weight without a CDL,” Czworka said. “Being in a snowplow is NOT a good use of a highway superintendent’s time.”

Adams says flatly “She has no ability to get the license.”

His opponent counters that shoveling snow off sidewalks, opening bigger intersections up that have snowed over are two additional ways to be helpful while others are plowing routes.

Town Supervisor Carl Hyde Jr. said in an email: “There are no exemptions in the NYS DMV laws for municipalities: you must have a CDL to drive plow truck or town dump truck.

“Here's the problem -- a driver does not show up for plowing or calls in sick, then the Super has to get in a truck and plow in Bethany. NO license, NO plowing.”

"The CDL issue is petty," Czworka replied in a phone interview this evening. "I've never needed one. We have two backup part-time drivers and they do a good job. The CDL is being made into a big issue by people who've never done the job.

"I've been a wing person. I've trained new drivers on routes. I don't sit in an office somewhere and tell people how I think they should do their job."

Czworka prides herself on having run a positive campaign. She said she was upfront with Adams in May and told him she would be running for his job. She says he told her didn’t know if he would to be on the ballot.

Adams says he doesn’t want to be negative, but he’s seen some things over these past few months that make him shake his head as a taxpayer.

Like the front-end loader that was driven down to a heavy equipment company some time back to have an oil change for $1,080, which is something Adams would have just handled himself.

The reason for taking the loader out for maintenance some years was to have the maintenance for the machine recorded in the company's record. The point being that after a certain time, that piece of equipment could be cashed in, “but the town would not cash it in,” Czworka said.

Hyde said the agreement with the company regarding the front-end loader was before his time in office; he started in 2015.

One of the times the Teamsters took the town to arbitration since 2015 was because it outsourced labor from a non-union man, according to Czworka.

Hyde said that man was brought on as Adams' deputy highway superintendent and paid the same as a machine equipment operator (MEO) on an as-needed basis.

A highway superintendent can legally select his appointment as deputy and the appointee can be either union or non-union. The selection does not violate union rules so long as that deputy is not a full-time worker.

"The town actually double paid to have material hauled to the shop," Czworka countered.

​Since at least 2015, Hyde said there has been ongoing debate about staffing of the Highway Department; he claims Bethany could not afford four full-time employees.

"We always could in the past," Czworka said, noting that the town hired two MEOs at a higher rate of pay, added the deputy Super yet could not afford the laborer post (her post) that was less than $14 per hour.

"Hyde's math doesn't add up," Czworka said.

Hyde says it's not just his math that is used in the town's decision-making process.

"Let's just say I hope the most qualifed person gets the job," Hyde said. "I can't let taxpayers down. That's my job."

Remember to vote, then browse the tables for your favorite sweets.

The Snack Shop is also open throughout the day.