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Voter registration issue in Genesee County

Posted at 6:53 PM, Nov 04, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-04 18:53:05-04

The Genesee County Board of Elections tells 7 Eyewitness News that a complaint was filed claiming that voter registration information collected through the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles was not making its way correctly to local polling books.

Both the Democratic and Republican commissioners for Genesee County say the problem is not widespread and is not part of any conspiracy to change party affiliations or votes.

However, the elections board is asking people who registered to vote through the DMV to make sure they bring their drivers' license number to the polls.  The number can be used to troubleshoot any DMV voter registration problems if they occur.

If problems are unable to be solved, a voter will be allowed to cast an affidavit ballot which will be verified later to see if it is valid.  A judge is also on-call to rule if the matter requires it.

Two thousand new voters registered in Genesee County and officials expect over 80% of all registered voters in the county to cast a ballot on Tuesday,  If that turns out to be true, it would be a record turnout.  Normally, presidential elections see around a 70% turnout.

7 Eyewitness News Reporter Ed Reilly was in Batavia to find out more about what is being done to handle potential election day problems.