TAKE FIVE!

October 13, 2020

Samantha Mango:
Hi, I’m Samantha Mango. Welcome to Sullivan 180 Presents Take Five!. Our guest today is Dan Hust, director of communications with Sullivan County government. Welcome Dan, thanks for being here.

Dan Hust:
Thanks for having me Samantha. But as you said, I’m Dan Hust. I’m the Director of Communications for Sullivan County government. I have been the Director of Communications for the past three and a half years now. And my favorite part, a lot of getting to meet new people and see folks that I’ve known for many years here in Sullivan County.

Samantha Mango:
We’re going to talk a little bit about voting and the upcoming 2020 election. Can you talk about some of the important voting dates that are coming up, some deadlines that are important to note and how these deadlines affect Sullivan County residents?

Dan Hust:
Yes. This of course is most everyone can figure already is going to be possibly the most unique election year that this country has ever dealt with. It’s been a unique year in most every other way, actually, certainly for me, it’s already been a very unique year, but our board of elections has been dealing with an unprecedented amount of new directives and new information and changing guidelines. So it’s important that people understand that even though there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, there’s just some basic info that they need to know that will help carry them through to make sure that their vote gets counted and that they can vote. So that said, there was just a big date that just passed of October 9th was the last day to register as a voter, so that has passed, but every other date really is still outstanding. Specifically, and this information can be found on our website at SullivanNY.US/departments/elections, or just go to SullivanNY.US/departments and click on our board of elections under find a department. And this will have all the information right there, but the qualifications are to vote by absentee ballot are on there. And the application deadline for an absentee ballot is what’s coming up right away. That’ll be October 27th is the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot. The postal service has said they can’t guarantee timely delivery, however, for a ballot applied for less than 15 days before an election. So the working deadline that we’re telling people is October 19th. That’s the one that you should really remember.

Dan Hust:
Of course, election day itself is November 3rd. However, this year you can vote early. Typically they start at 9:00 AM. They’re here at the government center. That’s the only early voting location. And they start at 9:00 AM on Saturday, October 24th, Sunday, October 25th, Monday, October 26th, Wednesday, October 28th, Friday, October 30th, Saturday, October 31st and Sunday, November 1st. Note- we’re talking about weekends here that you can actually come in person and cast a vote. Also, there are two days, Tuesday, October 27th and Thursday, October 29th, where early voting doesn’t actually start until 12 noon. But then on both those days, it runs till 8:00 PM. We also, of course, will be making sure that people are safely distanced, for COVID reasons. You’ll need to make sure that you have a mask that fully covers your nose and your mouth when you’re arriving. And we will have a set way of moving through the government center lobby to ensure that people don’t get too close to one another while they’re voting.

Samantha Mango:
We talked about absentee ballots. We’ve talked about early voting on November 3rd on election day,

Dan Hust:
Which I should mention 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Polls will be open in people’s usual locations. A few of those have changed. So you’ll want to make sure that you, again, go to the website or call our board of elections to ensure that you’re voting where you are used to voting.

Samantha Mango:
So that was my next question is how can you confirm that you are in fact registered to vote and confirm where your polling place is.

Dan Hust:
If you want an in person confirmation, the best way to do it is (845) 807-0400 our board of elections, or emailing them at scboe@co.sullivan.ny.us. And they will promptly reply to you to make sure that they confirm where it is that you’re voting. Again. This is about making sure that your vote counts. By the way, if you have time and are willing, there is a need for election inspectors in future elections, and they would love to talk to you more about that as well. That’s, of course, the very important folks who sit at the poll sites and make sure that you’re properly registered and logged in and can cast your vote.

Samantha Mango:
Is there anything else you’d like to share about voting?

Dan Hust:
Just that it’s important that we would like to see a record turnout this year that will make all this work, all this headache, all this hassle, all this agita worth it, especially for our folks who have been working very hard to ensure that people have the right to vote. If you speak a language other than English as a primary language, it’s very likely we could help get you through the whole process in a way that accommodates that and cuts through any language barriers. We are very much trying to make sure that it feels like a seamless, smooth process. Understandably, it won’t always be that way, but 99% of the time, I think it will be. And we don’t want people not coming to vote simply because they fear they won’t understand something or that they’ll be exposed to COVID or that a machine is going to break down. We have taken every step possible to make sure that you could cast your vote and that that vote will properly count. So please go ahead and vote no matter who it’s for, please vote.

Samantha Mango:
Absolutely. I think that’s a great sentiment again, thanks for being here and thanks also to the board of elections for all of their help in ensuring that Sullivan County residents have their votes counted.

Dan Hust:
It’s my pleasure. And I thank you for giving us yet another way to put this important information out to people.