The Latest: Smooth sailing so far in New York election
NEW YORK (AP) — The latest developments in New York's general election:
4 p.m.
New York City police are keeping an eye on election-related protests but say they don’t anticipate the kind of unrest that unfolded in the city after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd earlier this year.
NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan told reporters Tuesday that the department has not uncovered any information suggesting people are looking to inflict mayhem because of the election.
He said thousands of officers are at the ready to respond if there are problems.
Many businesses in Manhattan boarded up their windows as a precaution in the days ahead of the election.
About halfway through voting Tuesday, Monahan said, “It’s been relatively quiet and a normal election day, so far,” with only one minor incident: a skirmish outside a polling place between a Trump supporter and a Trump detractor.
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6 a.m.
An unprecedented Election Day has gotten under way in New York, with polls now open statewide.
It’s unclear how crowded polling places will be Tuesday.
A record 3.5 million votes were cast in the state before the polls even opened Tuesday.
That included at least 1 million absentee ballots and 2.5 million ballots cast in the early voting period that ended Sunday. Any ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted.
This is the first presidential election where New York has had early voting or widespread voting by mail.
A range of offices are on the ballot, including president, Congress and the state Legislature. The results of some contests might not be known for days or weeks because of the time expected to take to count absentee ballots.
Polls close at 9 p.m.