(WENY) -- Earlier this year, Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature agreed to allow early voting in New York, making it one of 39 states that will let residents vote for federal, state, and local offices before Election day, which is November 5.

The measure is a big win for election advocates who have long pushed the Empire State to allow for early voting, saying it is a way to encourage people to vote and expand access to the polls.

What is early voting?

It's just what it sounds like -- you can cast your vote earlier than Election Day. Starting this Saturday, October 26 and running through Sunday, November 3, you can vote at a polling place in your county.

Where can I vote?

The law requires each county to have at least one polling site, depending on its size.

Note that the times that early voting sties will be open are different than what you're used to on Election Day, and vary from day to day.

  • Steuben County
    • Office Building Annex
    • 20 E Morris St.
    • Bath, NY
  • Chemung County
    • County Board of Elections
    • 378 S. Main St.
    • Elmira, NY
  • Tioga County
    • County Board of Elections
    • 1062 State Route 38
    • Owego, NY
  • Tompkins County
    • Ithaca Town Hall
    • 215 N Tioga St.
    • Ithaca, NY
  • Schuyler County
    • Schuyler County Building
    • 105 9th St.
    • Watkins Glen, NY

If you cast your vote early, you don't get to vote again. It just means skipping a trip to your usual polling place on November 5.

What can I expect at the early voting site?

You may not have known it, but the last time you voted, may also have been the last time you'll sign your name in a thick blue voter registration book.

Counties with more than 50,000 registered voters are switching to using electronic poll books, and voters will sign on a small video display screen with a stylus pen, rather than with ink on paper.

Counties with fewer than 50,000 voters can still use paper ballots this year, but will eventually make the conversion to electronic.

What if I'm not in the poll book when I show up to vote?

You will simply need to fill out an affidavit ballot, also known as a provisional ballot.

The Board of Elections will then research to make sure you are eligible to vote in the community in which you're voting, and then count your vote after Election day.