voting q & a

If you registered to vote by the deadline (October 10, 2008), you can (and should) vote on November 4th.

Registered voters usually get a notice in the mail in August from the BOE with the address of their polling site. If you didn’t get a notice, you may not be registered. Call 866-VOTE-NYC to find if and where you should vote.

It is too late to register to vote for this year’s general election (the deadline was October 10, 2008). But please register now for future elections! Fill out a voter registration form and file it in person or by mail with any of the BOE offices. (You can also pick up a registration form in person at any BOE office or call and request one be mailed to you.)

Your registration has no expiration date. However, your registration may have been cancelled if you moved and did not update your address with the BOE and you did not vote in the 2004 or 2006 (federal) elections. Call 866-VOTE-NYC for more information.

When you move, you are legally required to change your address with the BOE. You do this by submitting a new voter registration form and checking the box labeled “Address change.” Fill in your new and old address, check off the correct box for the party you wish to be enrolled in (do this even if you were already enrolled in a party), and provide any other requested information. If you moved but you didn’t change your address before the cut-off (October 10th), you should go to your NEW polling place and fill out an affidavit ballot. Call 866-VOTE-NYC for more information about voting in a new district, or to verify that the BOE has received and processed your address change.

In Council District 30, you are voting for the office of City Council member. Voters throughout the city are voting for President of the United States and other offices not covered by this Guide, such as district leader or judicial offices.

The notice sent by the BOE has the address for your polling site. You can also call 866-VOTE-NYC, or use the BOE’s Poll Site Address Locator.

First, make sure you are signing in to use the correct voting machine for your assembly and election district. Once you confirm that you are signing in at the correct machine, if you are not on the poll list, it may be because your registration form was not received. If you believe that you are eligible, you can still vote. Ask for an affidavit ballot, which is a paper ballot. Take the envelope and the ballot that the poll worker gives you to the cardboard voting booth. Complete the envelope. Mark your votes on the ballot with a pencil or a pen with blue or black ink. The way to vote is to fill in the ovals near your choices. Remember not to make any other markings on the ballot. Fold the ballot and put it in the envelope. Seal the envelope and give it to the poll worker. After the election, the BOE will check its records and your vote will be counted if you are indeed eligible to vote. If not, you will receive a notice that you are not eligible to vote, along with a registration form for future elections.

You can vote by absentee ballot if you are unable to get to your polling place for many reasons, such as being away at school, on vacation, or hospitalized, or if you are disabled. Call 866-VOTE-NYC to find out if you can vote by absentee ballot, and to request an application for an absentee ballot.

To vote by absentee ballot, follow these two steps:

1. File an Absentee Ballot Application. You can download an absentee ballot application, or have one mailed to you by calling 866-VOTE-NYC. You can also pick up an application at any of the Board of Elections’ offices. Fill out the application and mail it or deliver it in person to the BOE office in your borough. For this election, completed absentee ballot applications must be postmarked by October 28th or personally delivered to your local BOE office by 5:00 p.m. on November 3rd.
2. Send in your Absentee Ballot. If you submit the application in person at your borough’s BOE office, you will receive your absentee ballot immediately. You can also have it mailed to you. Fill it out and mail or hand deliver it to any of the BOE’s offices. For this election, completed absentee ballots must be postmarked by November 3, 2008 or personally delivered to the BOE’s office in your borough by 9:00 p.m. on November 4, 2008.

You may be able to vote in person (“In Person Absentee Voting”) at the BOE’s office in your borough. Absentee voting in person begins as soon as the ballots are available (at least 32 days before an election) and ends on election day. It is conducted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and on the weekend before election day, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m on election day. Call 866-VOTE-NYC for more information.