Early voting dates set for County Executive special election

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - Westchester voters will get to pick a new county executive in a special election set for Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Early balloting takes place from Saturday, Feb. 1, through Sunday, Feb. 9.

Vying for the leadership position are Democrat Ken Jenkins and Republican Christine Sculti.

Jenkins was appointed County Executive by the Westchester County Board of Legislators in early January after then-County Executive George Latimer headed to Washington D.C. to claim his seat as a U.S. representative in New York’s 16th Congressional District.

If he wins, Jenkins will be the first African American to lead Westchester County. If elected, Sculti would be the first female to serve as County Executive. 

Having chalked up several decades of public service, Latimer became County Executive seven years ago. He resigned on Jan. 2.

He bested two-term Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the June Democratic primary and then went on to trounce Republican challenger Miriam Levitt Flisser in last November’s general election.

Latimer had endorsed Jenkins, his top deputy, praising him a vital part of his administration.

The winner of the Feb. 11 contest will serve until Dec. 31, 2025, to fill the remainder of Latimer’s term. In November, there will be another election for a full four-year term.

Sculti, former chief advisor to ex-County Executive Rob Astorino, is a deputy commissioner for the Westchester County Board of Elections.

She had unsuccessfully challenged Latimer in the 2021 County Executive race.

If elected, she plans to focus on repealing Jenkins’ “controversial Sanctuary Law,” reining in “out-of-control” county spending, cutting the “confiscatory sales tax;” ending congestion pricing, and establishing an “Office of Parental Rights.”

According to a post on her social media, Sculti vowed to “issue an Executive Order requiring cooperation between the county’s Department of Public Safety and Department of Correction with the federal government to detain, remove and deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”

Among the top priorities listed on Jenkins’s campaign website are increasing affordability by controlling property taxes, increasing affordable housing, and streamlining county government; supporting public safety by getting guns off the street and improving relations between police and the community; increasing access to healthcare through preventative medical services and the defense of reproductive rights; improving public transportation; and protecting the environment by further reducing Westchester’s carbon footprint and investing in infrastructure aimed at preventing “disastrous” flooding.

Early Voting Dates & Times 

· Saturday, Feb. 1: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
· Sunday, Feb. 2: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
· Monday, Feb. 3: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
· Tuesday, Feb. 4: 12 noon to 8 p.m.
· Wednesday, Feb. 5: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
· Thursday, Feb. 6: 12 noon to 8 p.m.
· Friday, Feb. 7: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
· Saturday, Feb. 8: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
· Sunday, Feb. 9: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Polling Places

Folks can vote in any one of 25 designated polling places in Westchester.

In Halston Media’s coverage area, those include:

Mt. Kisco Public Library, 100 E. Main St., Mt. Kisco.
Pound Ridge Town House, 179 Westchester Ave., Pound Ridge.
Somers Town House, 335 Route 202, Somers.
Jefferson Village Annex, 3500 Hill Blvd., Yorktown Heights.
Yorktown Cultural Center, 1974 Commerce St., Yorktown Heights.

For the complete list, click here. 

Good to Know 

Voting during early voting is the same as voting on Election Day. When you get to the early voting center, you check in, receive your ballot, and vote like you would in any other election.

There will be instructions available at the early voting centers to familiarize you with the ballot. There will also be a notice to voters and a bill of rights.

Election inspectors will be on hand if you need any assistance.

Early voting results will be canvassed and reported after 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11, the date of the Special Election.
Any registered voter in Westchester can participate in the early vote by mail ballot.

You can apply for an absentee ballot if you are: out of your home county; permanently or temporarily disabled, ill or are the primary care giver for one or more people who are ill or physically disabled; a resident of a VA hospital; detained in jail awaiting grand jury action; or incarcerated for an offense other than a felony.