Voting key dates, resources, and hotline information

Contact your local board of elections. If you live in New York City, you can track the status of your ballot application.

If your board of elections cannot help you, contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General's hotline for help.

Also consider voting early. Lines will probably be shorter during early voting. Just note that you will have to vote by affidavit ballot in person because you filed a request for an absentee ballot.

You may have made a mistake with your absentee ballot. You may be able to fix it if:

• You forgot to sign, seal, or include your oath/security envelope.
• Your signature does not match the signature on file.
• The envelope is signed by someone else, such as someone who has power of attorney or who has helped you.

In this case, your local board of elections must provide you with a sworn statement (cure affirmation) for you to complete, sign, and return. You must return the cure affirmation (or have it postmarked) by the seventh business day after you receive the notification. You can return it by mail or in person.

If the affirmation addresses the error, your ballot will be counted. If it is rejected, you will be notified within three business days of the rejection.

If you are concerned that you did not properly fill out your absentee ballot, or that your ballot will arrive too late, you can go to your polling site and vote in person by affidavit ballot. However, if you correctly completed your ballot and if it arrives in time, your absentee ballot will be counted instead of your in-person affidavit ballot.

In 2023, you can use an absentee ballot if you:

• will be absent from your county of residence (for New York City residents, absent from New York City) on Election Day
• have a temporary or permanent illness or disability
• are the primary caregiver of an individual who has a temporary or permanent illness or disability
• are a patient at a Veterans' Administration hospital
• are detained in jail awaiting an action by a grand jury, or are incarcerated for conviction on an offense other than a felony

You are not required to show photo ID to vote anywhere throughout the state.

However, depending on when you registered, or if this is the first time you are voting, polling officials may require some form of identification. If this is the case, you may use a photo ID or a copy of any of the following documents:

• current utility bill
• bank statement
• government check 
• paycheck
• other government document showing your name and address

If you do not have any of these forms of identification, you may cast an affidavit ballot unless a court says otherwise.

If someone improperly requests identification when you try to vote, contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

A poll worker may ask you for identification to clarify the spelling of your name, or for other reasons. While you are free to present such information to help the poll worker, remember that identification is not required to vote (other than to clear up the issues listed above). Poll workers may also ask you for your date of birth if you have a common name or if they experience difficulty finding you in the pollbook.

If someone improperly requests your date of birth when you try to vote, contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

First, confirm that you are at the correct location. Check the appropriate website for voting early or on Election Day, or ask the inspector at the polling site to confirm your location.

If you believe you are at the correct site and are eligible to vote, you can cast an affidavit ballot. This is a provisional ballot that is not immediately scanned and counted on Election Day; it is set aside until election officials can verify your voter eligibility. Once confirmed, it is counted and tallied with the vote totals.

• Complete the affidavit ballot and place it in the affidavit envelope. The election inspector will help you complete and properly document the envelope to provide information about your eligibility.
• If election officials determine that you were eligible to vote and were at the correct site, your vote will be counted, and your voter registration will be updated for later elections. 
• If you were at the wrong polling location but voting in the correct county, some of the races common to the poll site in which you voted will be counted.  You will receive a notice to that effect as well as a registration form to remedy issues in the future.

Affidavit ballots can be used when your voting eligibility is unclear because:

• You moved within the state after registering.
• You have “inactive” voter status.
• Your registration was incorrectly transferred to a different address (even though you did not move).
• Your registration poll records are missing on Election Day.
• Your identity was not previously verified.
• Your registration records do not show you enrolled in your party.
• You are incorrectly identified as having already voted.
• You requested an absentee ballot but elected to vote in person.

If poll workers refuse to give you an affidavit ballot, or insist on first calling their board of elections to determine your eligibility, this practice is illegal. Immediately contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

Even if an election inspector believes you are not eligible to vote or that you are at the wrong poll site, you can request a court order to cast an in-person ballot that will be counted by the close of the polls.

If you decide to do this, the election inspector must give you a certificate to request a court order:

Election inspectors will fill out the certificate for you, with the signatures of election inspectors from each political party. They will direct you to your local board of elections office (or other location), where a judge is available to review and endorse your certificate, if it is valid. You can then return to your polling site with the certificate and cast your in-person ballot. 

Some voter challenges are legal.  At a polling site, an election inspector or clerk, an official poll watcher, or a registered voter can challenge a voter's right to vote. The challenger cannot be intimidating or threatening. Legitimate claims may be that the voter:

• has not provided an authentic signature
• does not reside in an appropriate location for this election
• has already cast a ballot
• is otherwise unqualified to vote
• is engaged in electioneering (working on behalf of a political party or candidate at or near the polling site)

If someone challenges you, you can dispute the challenge.

You are entitled to dispute the challenge. An election inspector will administer a preliminary oath about your qualifications to vote, and then ask questions about the challenge:

• If you refuse to take the oath or answer the questions, you will not be permitted to vote.
• If the inspector believes you are qualified to vote or if the challenge is withdrawn, you will be allowed to complete and cast your ballot.
• If the inspector is not satisfied with your answers, you may choose to take a specific oath to address the challenge (for instance, about your citizenship, residency, or voting status; bribery issues; or competency issues), after which you may be allowed to vote.
• If an election inspector offers to remedy the situation with an affidavit ballot, you can insist on taking the necessary oath(s). This will allow your vote to be counted by the time the polls close, rather than having to wait for review after the election.

If you feel threatened, want assistance, or have questions about the process, contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

Official poll watchers are legitimate. These are people sent by candidates, political parties, or other organizations to report voting irregularities to the election inspector, a police officer, or the board of elections.

At a general or primary election, a party, political committee, or other organization may place three watchers at each election district at any time. Only one of these three may be within the guard rail, which is the part of the poll site containing the table used by election inspectors and board of elections equipment (privacy booths, ballot-marking device, and scanners).

Poll watchers can only watch — nothing more. If they work on behalf of a political party or candidate, engage you in political discussions, or interfere with your right to vote, they are violating the law.
However, poll watchers may challenge voters based on signature authenticity, residence, multiple voting, voter qualification, or electioneering.

If you see a poll watcher behaving improperly, please contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

Voter intimidation, although very rare in New York, could include the following and other tactics:

• individuals or groups waiting outside polling places and trying to scare people out of the voting line
• poll watchers inside a polling place aggressively challenging a large group of voters, slowing down lines, and falsely hinting that voters are voting illegally
• poll watchers near voting booths, standing in unauthorized areas, video recording or photographing voters in the polling place, or following or harassing voters in the polling place
• individuals spreading rumors or making false statements that voting leads to negative consequences
• individuals or groups displaying weapons, foreign military uniforms, or any military symbols or equipment outside polling locations

The Office of the New York State Attorney General takes any claim of voter intimidation seriously. If you see any of these behaviors, please contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

Watch out for phone calls, mailings, or messages in newspapers, social media, TV, or radio that discourage you from using an absentee ballot, voting early, or voting at all:

• "Your vote is not private." This is untrue. How you vote will not be shared when you vote.
• "Elections are used to crack down on warrants or tickets." This is a lie. Someone is trying to scare you to prevent you from voting.
• "Your polling place/date has changed." Consult your local board of elections and the resources they have listed, especially if you receive different information about where or when to vote.

Voter intimidation is a serious crime. If you experience any voter intimidation or misinformation, please contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

If you have moved within the state of New York, even if you have not yet updated your address on your voter registration, you are eligible to vote in person. You must cast an affidavit ballot at the poll site assigned to your new address. Fill out the ballot envelope completely so that your voter registration will be updated correctly.

If you have moved to or within New York City, check the New York City Board of Elections for guidance about where to vote.

If your new address is outside New York City, you can find your new poll site by contacting your local board of elections or the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

If you have moved to New York from another state, your mailed voter registration must be postmarked 25 days before Election Day and received by 20 days before Election Day. In-person voter-registration forms must arrive at your local board of elections 25 days before Election Day.

Poll-site location changes are often necessary. Your local board of elections is juggling changes in poll-site needs and availability. In each election cycle, there is a new set of races, and the number of people who can vote in each race can change. And some voting sites, such as schools, can become unavailable.

But you should not receive any surprises about your poll site changing. If you already received a notice with your assigned poll site, you should get any last-minute poll site changes by mail at least five days before the next election or registration deadline. If your board of elections cannot give you this notice, it must post signs at your previous polling location directing you to the correct location, or notify you in some other way.

If you believe that your polling place has been moved without notice, call your local board of elections, or contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General for assistance, including by calling our hotline at 1-866-390-2992.

If you have a four-hour window when you are not working and the polls are open (for instance, if your shift ends at 5 p.m. and the polls are open until 9 p.m.), then you cannot receive paid time off to vote.

If you do not have a four-hour window, you may claim up to two hours of paid time off. Notify your employer at least two working days, but not more than 10 working days, before the day on which you wish to vote. If your employer refuses to give you paid time off, contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

Sharpies and permanent markers are completely safe and legitimate for marking your ballot. The ballot is designed so that, even if your marks on one side of the paper bleed through, they will not affect races on the other side (if you have marked your ballot properly). In fact, many poll workers prefer Sharpies because they will not smudge or stain the glass on a ballot scanner.

Guidance on face coverings and social distancing continues to evolve. Please check with your local board of elections regarding COVID-19 protocols at your poll site. If your board of elections cannot assist you, please contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General at 1-866-390-2992.

You can send a friend or family member to your local Board of Election to request an in-person absentee ballot on your behalf up until the day before Election Day. If that deadline has passed, you may be able to request curbside voting at your polling location since the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is greatly reduced in outdoor settings.  Check with your local Board of Elections to see if they will accommodate your situation and otherwise comply with Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.