POLAND, N.Y. --Voters in the village of Poland must decide who they want for their next mayor, but this year there are no candidates.

Kim Tranter, commissioner with the Herkimer County Board of Elections, said the village will accept write-in candidates.

"So even if they were to have one vote that person could conceivably win the election," she said.

In order for the vote to be valid, the candidate must live in the village of Poland and be a registered voter. The village has a population of 500 people.

"The candidate then has the opportunity to either accept or to decline the vote," she said. "If they decline then the town board can appoint somebody to the position. If they still can't find anyone that position can remain open for a year and this will be on the ballot again next year."

Tranter said other municipalities across the state are also experiencing a lack of candidates for elections.

"The state and local primary was combined with the federal primary, which moved all of our dates up," she said. "So instead of having petitions in July, they're doing petitions right now. People are still caught off guard about this. Petitions need to be filed with the board of elections, this is state wide, from April 1 to April 4.

The election in the village of Poland is taking place to find a replacement for Mayor Mary Paul, who is stepping down for personal reasons.

Polls are open from noon until 9 p.m. on Tuesday at the village office on Case Street.