TROY – The Rensselaer County Legislature’s Democratic minority is introducing legislation in August to have the county Board of Elections open an early voting site in Troy in addition to the ones planned for Brunswick and Schodack.

The proposed legislation would allocate $7,500 to match the $7,500 the Troy City Council unanimously approved on July 11 to pay for opening an early voting site in the city. The $15,000 is expected to cover the costs for operating the third voting site.

“Troy makes up 33% of the countywide population, of which 72% of the residents, including the elderly, minority, poor, as well as students, do not own personal vehicles and rely solely on walking and the use of public transportation, something that would disproportionately impact their access to the current sites,” Minority Leader Peter Grimm, D-Troy, said.

There has been a push for the city to have a site due to the distance voters without vehicles would have to travel to reach the closest early voting site at Brunswick Town Hall, located just off Route 7, and miles beyond the closest bus stop, according to the Democratic legislators. The other early voting site at Schodack Town Hall off Routes 9 and 20 is not served by direct bus service from Troy.

“The early voting initiative was intended to make it easier for voters to cast their ballot. Travel to these sites by public transportation (CDTA) is, in fact, a hindrance, and not a help to voters,” Legislator Mark Fleming, D-Troy, said.

Legislature Chairman Michael Stammel, R-Rensselaer, said he has not seen the proposed legislation but that it goes through the county Legislature’s committee review process. Stammel said the majority Republican caucus has not yet discussed the legislation.

The Legislature oversees the county Board of Elections. Stammel noted that the Democratic and Republican elections commissioners had agree upon the two sites.

Stammel warned it’s not easy to find polling places that meet the standards for handicapped accessibility set by the state Board of Elections and it’s difficult to get organizations to open their facilities for voting.

“That is getting to be a bigger and bigger problem,” Stammel said.

As the Troy Council discovered during its debate, there are issues about finding an early voting site in the city. Council members said they want to see the polling place located in the 2nd Council District, which includes North Central, the city’s poorest neighborhood.

The early voting is scheduled to be held from Saturday, Oct. 26, to Sunday, Nov. 3. The two sites announced May 30 by the county Board of Elections are Brunswick Town Hall, 336, Town Office Road, and Schodack Town Hall, 265 Schuurman Road.