Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics there were nearly 860,000 more votes cast in New York in the 2020 presidential election than four years ago, reflecting an increase in voter turnout and the different ways voters were able to cast ballots this year. Overall turnout increased from 68 percent in 2016 to about 70 percent in November. The state Board of Elections last week certified the state election results, with Democrat Joe Biden securing more than 60 percent of the vote over the incumbent Republican Donald Trump. All told, Biden and his running mate U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris received 5.23 million votes, an increase of roughly 675,000 more than the number received by the Democrats Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine in 2016. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence also received more votes this year; 425,000 more than they did in 2016. New York voters this year cast ballots through early voting for the first time in a presidential election. And voters were given expanded access to absentee ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state's electors will meet Mon., Dec. 14, to cast their 29 electoral votes for Biden and Harris. It is not yet clear how the Electoral College will meet given the pandemic, but constitutionally, they must vote in person at the state Capitol in Albany. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.