Check out our Post-Hurricane Guide for useful resources in dealing with Sandy's aftermath.
Originally published Oct. 30, 2012 -
Election officials on Long Island are still unsure of how Sandy will be impacting next week’s elections. There are over 700 polling sites in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and some of these sites are currently without power or still inundated with flood waters.
Contingency plans are in the works to provide generators to election sites that will be without power on Tuesday, or designate alternate election sites. Officials have been clear, however, that there is no plan to postpone voting on Tuesday. In both counties, the last resort will be the use of paper ballots.
86 of Nassau’s 376 election sites are located within federal flood zones, and the damage to Suffolk’s 342 election sites is still being assessed. Polling machines are being sent out today to sites in Suffolk that have power and lack significant flood damage, and shipments begin in Nassau tomorrow.
Absentee ballots will be made available to voters who are able to demonstrate a Sandy-related inability to reach the polls. Ballots will be accepted through Monday. Suffolk offices will be open throughout the week, and in Nassau, county office hours will be extended on election day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to accommodate for storm-related delays on election day.
Campaigning on Long Island has taken a stand still, and both President Obama and Gov. Romney have toned down their campaigns in the final days before the election. President Obama is scheduled to tour the damage in New Jersey with Gov. Chris Christie, who praised his attentiveness and speed in getting New Jersey and New York declared as disaster areas.
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