This article was originally published by Spectrum News

By Adriana Loh

Early voting has officially begun across New York state ahead of Primary Day on June 23, giving voters more than a week to cast their ballots in critical federal and state races.

It’s democracy in action. As registered voters head to the polls, many women are working behind the scenes.

They are all from different ages, careers and backgrounds but with one unified mission in mind.

“I live in a ZIP code that is considered one of the most underserved communities in the States,” League of Women Voters of Rochester vice president Stephanie Watson said. “And [we are] trying to encourage them to learn about voting, learning about how it impacts their lives.”

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan grassroots organization representing and advocating voting rights.

“It’s all good information on what's at the polls and what's in the community,” Watson said. “So, everything impacts what we do today. So, we got to be cognizant of that. We must be cognizant of that. So, this is what the league does and this is why I'm a part of the league. I was inspired by Susan B. Anthony. You start to go down a rabbit hole of her, and then you start to say, 'Oh.' And then it helps that I'm also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. So, we were a part of that first suffrage march in a sense, but we were there. And so, when you know the history of it, you say, you know what? Let me get more engaged. And that's how you get more engaged, especially in our Rochester community.”

They work to empower voters in Rochester and across the nation.

“With early voting, it allows less congestion at the polling sites on polling day, and it allows people to [have] more flexibility to the plan to vote,” League of Women Voters of Rochester president Julie Burns said. “So, one of the things that we want to encourage folks to do is have a plan for voting [and] be able to research your candidates. Tell your friends and family what your plan is for voting. Be curious about what their plan for voting is. So the importance of early voting is really that folks can get out there and make sure that they are a voter.”

“I look at it as this is like, our local government is like an extension of your family,” Watson said. “It's a cousin, third cousin removed. But something that that cousin does will impact your household in some type of fashion. So, it's very important to get educated on local. We already know what's going on with the federal. We see that every day. It's [a] trending topic every day.”

Its team prioritizes making everyone’s voice heard. The same priorities can decide who will win in the upcoming primaries.  

“We’ve gone through hard historical times before and this is where we are right now,” Burns said. “We're going to move out of this, and we're going to be well positioned to make change in the world.”

“We're trying to get everything lined up and make sure that we're in the right place moving forward as well,” Watson said. “Knowing that you have the League of Women Voters as a whole, behind you when you're going out to the community members and you're saying, hey, this is something that you may want to think about, and then you have vote for one on. You have the different literature that we all have in our bags, in our car somewhere, that we can just always leave and say, we were here and just take a look at this information, because it's all going to be good information to have and educate you on what's at the polls and what's in the community. Everything impacts what we do today.”