Democratic congressional candidate Dana Balter visited the Spiritual Renewal Center polling site near Syracuse University’s South Campus on Tuesday morning to thank poll workers and make a final appeal to voters.

Balter is running against three-time incumbent Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) to represent New York’s 24th Congressional District. Katko defeated Balter by about 6% in the 2018 congressional race for the district, which includes Onondaga, Wayne and Cayuga counties and parts of Oswego County.

Stopping at the polling place on Lancaster Avenue on Tuesday morning, Balter, a former professor in SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said she was hopeful about the election even though she doesn’t expect results to be conclusive tonight.

“We’ve been incredibly encouraged by what we’ve seen in early voting numbers, both absentee ballots and in-person early voting,” Balter said. “I’m going to be on pins and needles just like everybody else, but also prepared for the fact we’re not going to have any final answers tonight.”

Dustin Czarny, commissioner of the Onondaga County Board of Elections, has said he expects three-quarters of the election results to be available on election night, but the county will likely not be done counting mail-in ballots until the end of next week. Starting Nov. 9, the board of elections will give daily reports on absentee ballot results. 

A greater percentage of Katko voters plan to vote in person on Election Day, while Balter’s supporters are more likely to have voted by mail or in person through early voting, a poll from Siena College and Syracuse.com found. 

While this is her second time running against Katko for the NY-24 seat, Balter said she feels more experienced this time around. The presidential election, she said, has also shifted the atmosphere surrounding her campaign. 

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden endorsed Balter in August.

“Because this is also a presidential election year, the stakes are so much higher, there’s so much more on the line,” Balter said. “It also is part of what makes this feel different as a candidate, because our campaign is part of a giant national movement.”

Inside the polling site, Balter thanked each poll worker. She also congratulated a woman who told her she had voted for the first time that day.

A total of 337 people had voted at the Spiritual Renewal Center polling site as of 10:47 a.m. on Tuesday, said Diane Hunt, a poll worker at the site.

Hunt said the site had been busier than usual Tuesday morning. 

After the polls close tonight, Balter said she’ll spend the days until results arrive “doing a lot of thumb-twiddling.” She’ll spend time cooking and hiking until the race is decided, she said. 

“We are definitely not going to know for quite a while what the result of the election here in the 24th is,” Balter said. “It’ll be an exercise in patience.”

Published on November 3, 2020 at 12:54 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu