With the presidential election only days away, and Fire Island under mandatory evacuation orders, the residents of Long Island’s Fire Island Community that have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy are unlikely to be able to vote at their normal polling locations this coming Tuesday, November 6th.
As per the president of FIA (Fire Island Association), Suzy Goldhirsh and the Superintendent of FINS (Fire Island National Seashore), Chris Soller, the Suffolk County Board of Elections is working with the governor’s office and local municipalities to assess the accessibility of the polling places evaluate which ones are inoperative and make arrangements to relocate those election districts.
A press release by the Suffolk County of Board of Elections was released Thursday stated, “Once we establish which of our polling places are inoperative, we will make arrangements to relocate those election districts, notify voters and accommodate the electorate to the best of our ability. Our absentee ballot program has been uninterrupted and extended. We are doing everything possible to ensure that our elections will move forward as scheduled.”
Areas in the towns of Brookhaven, Babylon, Islip, Huntington and Smithtown are expected to be affected. Fire Island polling sites are believed to be included within the sites that are to be relocated.
The Suffolk County Board of Elections can be contacted at 631-852-4500. Absentee ballots are available at Suffolk County Offices on Saturday from 9am to 9pm, Sunday from 9am to 5pm and Monday from 9am to 7pm.
