VOTER REGISTRATION
Registration Deadline: For the full calendar of deadlines, click here.
Party Affiliation: Political party enrollment is optional, but in order to vote in a primary election of a political party, a voter must enroll in that political party.
February 14 is the statutory deadline for a Board of Elections to receive from the DMV a voter’s request to change their party enrollment for this year’s primaries. Therefore, any change of a party enrollment via this DMV site must be done by February 13 in order to be effective for this year's primary elections. You may still hand-deliver a party enrollment change directly to your local Board of Elections on February 14.
Change of name/address: The voter registration form should be used as a change of address form. Notices of change of address from registered voters received at least 20 days before a special, primary or general election by a county board of elections must be processed and entered in the records in time for that election.
Voter Registration Qualifications
Age: Must be 18 years old by December 31 of the year in which you file this form (note: you must be 18 years old by the date of the general, primary or other election in which you want to vote). You may pre-register if you are 16 or 17 years of age.
Citizenship: Must be a United States citizen
Residency: Must be resident of state, county, city or village at least 30 days before an election and not claim the right to vote elsewhere
Mental Competency: Must not be declared mentally incompetent by a court
Felony Convictions: Must not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction (unless parolee pardoned or restored rights of citizenship)
ID Requirements:
-DMV Number(driver's license number or non-driver ID number);
-Last four digits of your social security number; or
-Copy of a valid photo ID, current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or some other government document that shows your name or address.
If your identity is not verified before Election Day, you will be asked for ID when you vote for the first time.
Obtaining a Voter Registration Form
In person: In addition to the County Board of Elections offices, you may apply to register to vote at any of the following New York State agency offices:
- Department of Motor Vehicles
- Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
- City Universities of New York (CUNY)
- Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
- Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities
- Department of Health-WIC Program
- Department of Labor
- Department of Social Services
- Department of State
- Division of Veterans’ Affairs
- Military Recruiting Offices
- Office for the Aging
- Office of Mental Health
- Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
- State Universities of New York (SUNY)
- Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities
- Workers’ Compensation Board
By mail/in writing: Turn in a form to your local county Board of Elections office.
You can also call 1-800-FOR-VOTE hotline to request a voter application.
Online: Complete this form.
Verifying Your Voter Registration Status
Online: Voter registration verification
Phone: Contact your County Board of Elections
Absentee Ballot Qualifications
Who can vote absentee:
-You must be absent from your county or, if a resident of New York City absent from said city, on Election Day
-Unable to appear at the polls due to temporary or permanent illness or disability; or because you are the primary caregiver of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled (temporary illness includes being unable to appear due to risk of contracting or spreading a communicable disease like COVID-19).
-A patient or inmate in a Veterans' Administration Hospital.
-Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony.
Obtaining an Absentee Ballot
Online: You can apply for an absentee ballot online here.
In person: Applications for Absentee Ballots are available at your County Board of Elections office. Applications must be delivered no later than the day before the election in person.
By mail: Download an Absentee Ballot application (Spanish) and mail it to your county board no later than the seventh day before the election.
You may also request an Absentee Ballot by sending a letter to your county board of elections. The letter must be received by your county board no earlier than 30 days and no later than seven days before the election. The letter must contain the following information:
-the address where you are registered
-an address where the ballot is to be sent
-the reason for the request, and
-the signature of the voter
If you use this method an application form will be mailed with your ballot. The application form must be completed and returned with your ballot.
Military and overseas voting: Persons serving in the military, along with their spouses and/or dependents may register as a military voter in New York. United States citizens living outside of the United States whose last U.S. residence was New York, along with their children, may register as a special federal voter in New York, entitling them to receive an absentee ballot for all federal races.
To register as a new special federal voter and/or to request an absentee ballot, you must complete a Federal Post Card Application and return it to the county board of elections of your previous New York residence.
Regardless of the method in which you receive your ballot, you must return your ballot to your local county board of elections by postal mail.
See more Military and Overseas voter information here.
Other absentee ballot information: If you are permanently ill or disabled, you have the right to receive an Absentee Ballot for each subsequent election without further application. Simply file an application with your county board of elections indicating permanent illness or physical disability. You will then automatically receive an absentee ballot for every election until your registration is canceled.
Submitting an Absentee Ballot
Location and time: Mailed absentee ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day. You can also submit it in person no later than Election Day, bring it to an early voting site in your county, or bring it to your County Board of Elections no later than close of polling on Election Day.
If you mail your completed ballot, the USPS recommends that voters allow enough time for ballots to be returned to the Board, which is generally seven days ahead of the general election. Voters who mail in their ballots on Election Day must be aware of the posted collection times on collection boxes and at the Postal Service’s retail facilities, and that ballots entered after the last posted collection time will not be postmarked until the following business day.
Other absentee ballot submission information: If you cannot pick up your ballot, or will not be able to receive it through the mail, you have the right to designate someone to pick it up for you. Only that person designated on your application may pick up and deliver your ballot.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Verifying Registration: voter registration verification
Deciding how to vote: https://votesmart.org
Polling Place: voter registration verification and polling place locator
How to Vote: voting systems
Problems with voting: HAVA Complaint Form
Verifying provisional ballot status: contact your county Board of Elections
Verifying absentee ballot status: track your absentee ballot