One reason Cayuga County wanted to open three early voting locations is the availability of state funding. The county would get $45,000 — $15,000 for each site — and an additional $24,573 based on its enrollment. So far, only $15,000 of the county's request has been approved by the Division of Budget.

"The whole reason for early voting and all of the local assistance from the state is to encourage voter participation — to make it easier and more convenient for people to vote," Lacey said in a phone interview Friday. "Cutting the local aid is counterproductive to what they said they were trying to do."

The concern about the potential funding cut isn't limited to counties that have more than the required number of poll sites.

Laura Costello, the Democratic elections commissioner in Madison County, said the county will have one early voting site this year — the minimum required. But the county hoped to receive $21,447 in aid based on its voting population. The status of that funding is unclear now that the Division of Budget is reviewing the requests.

The additional aid would've been a "huge help," Costello said, as the county buys equipment and prepares for early voting this fall.