Voting resources

If you have a disability, a friend or relative may help you in the voting booth. Election inspectors at the site can also help and can provide assistive devices.

A poll worker may provide you with reasonable accommodations, such as having a chair, having someone else stand in line for you, or moving to the front of the line if you cannot stand for long periods. Whether a poll worker is obligated to provide such accommodation will depend on the particular facts. For more information about polling places accessibility requirements, see the ADA Checklist for Polling Places issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

For additional information, please see the Attorney General's guidance on assistance to voters with disabilities.

If you believe you have not received reasonable accommodations, contact your local board of elections or call the Office of the New York State Attorney General's Election Hotline at 1-866-390-2992.

If you need help to vote because you are blind or disabled, or have difficulty reading or writing in English well, you can choose someone to assist you. Your voting helper does not have to be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter, or even an adult. This person could be a minor, a family member or friend, or someone else. They can also help other voters.   

But your helper cannot be your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your union.

Your voting helper can help you throughout the entire voting process, including inside the voting booth. Before assisting you, your helper may have to swear an oath that they will not improperly influence you.

If you require voting assistance but do not have someone to help you, you can be assisted by two poll site workers from different political parties.

Contact your local board of elections to determine whether it provides any language assistance.  

If your poll site does not allow your voting helper to assist you, you can contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General (OAG) at 1-866-390-2292 or request assistance through the OAG hotline. 

Some counties and cities are required by federal law to translate voting materials and provide interpretation into a language other than English. These areas must provide these translations because many of their residents are U.S. citizens, but do not speak English well.

All election information that is available in English must also be available in the required language or languages. This translation gives voters the opportunity to register, learn election details, and cast their ballot.  

• Written materials that must be translated include ballots, voter-registration forms, and other written information.  
• Oral language assistance must also be available, such as through interpreters or bilingual poll workers.  

In New York state, the following counties are required to provide the following language assistance: 

See the complete list of jurisdictions with language-translation requirements for New York State and the rest of the country.  

At some poll sites, voting materials are translated into some of the following languages:  

• Arabic 
• Bengali 
• Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) 
• French 
• Haitian Creole 
• Italian 
• Korean 
• Polish 
• Russian 
• Urdu 
• Yiddish 

This translation assistance is provided by the New York City Civic Engagement Commission’s Voter Language Assistance (VLA) program during elections.  

To find out if your poll site receives VLA interpretation services, visit New York City’s early voting services map or Election Day services map.  

If you don’t know your New York City poll site, visit Find my poll site and enter your address to find your voting location. Note that your early voting location may be different from your Election Day location, and that the location might have changed since you last voted. 

If you have questions or concerns, contact the Office of the New York State Attorney General (OAG) at 1-866-390-2292 or request assistance through the OAG hotline.  

52 U.S. Code 10508 describes who can and cannot help voters with language issues.   

52 U.S. Code 10310(c)(1); OCA-Greater Houston v. Texas, No. 16-51126 (5th Cir. 2017) explains that a voting helper can assist during the entire voting process, including entering the voting booth.  

N.Y. Election Law section 8-306(5) describes the oath a voting helper may have to swear.  

N.Y. Election Law section 8-306(3) explains that, if a voter does not have someone to help with language, two poll workers from different parties can provide assistance.  

186 Federal Register 69, pp. 611–669 and 618 (December 8, 2021) discusses the jurisdictions that are required to provide language translation of all voting materials, under federal law.  

152 U.S. Code section 10503(b)(2)(A). Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, sets forth the requirements for bilingual language assistance for covered jurisdictions. A jurisdiction is covered under Section 203 if the Director of the Census Bureau determines that both of the following conditions are true:  

• more than 5 percent or 10,000 or more of the citizens of voting age of the jurisdiction are members of a single language minority and have limited proficiency in English 
• the illiteracy rate of the citizens in the language minority as a group is higher than the national illiteracy rate  

New York City: Track the status of your ballot application

Outside New York City: Track the status of your ballot application

Contact your local board of elections. 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 or early mail ballot.

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

• You forgot to sign your oath/security envelope.
• Your signature does not match the signature on file.
• You marked your ballot rather than signing it, because of illness, physical disability, or inability to read, but did not have a witness.
• Your ballot was returned by mail but did not include a ballot affirmation envelope in the return envelope.
• The envelope is signed by someone else, such as someone who has power of attorney or who has helped you.
• Your ballot was returned by mail without a postmark within seven days after the election. 

In these scenarios, your local board of elections must provide you with a sworn statement (cure affirmation) for you to complete, sign, and return, and a postage paid return envelope. You must return the cure affirmation (or have it postmarked) by the seventh business day after the notification was sent by mail or by the seventh day after the election, whichever is later. You can return it by mail or in person, or electronically (as an attachment to an email, or as an uploaded electronic document if the BOE provides that functionality). A cure affirmation submitted electronically is timely if it is received by midnight on the deadline.

If the affirmation addresses the error, your ballot will be counted. If the affirmation does not cure the issue and is rejected, you may be notified by your local board of elections of the rejection and notified of your other options for voting.

If you did not seal the envelope for your ballot, your local board of elections will notify you and provide you with a new ballot if time permits.

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

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, including COVID-19
•  are the primary caregiver of an individual who has a temporary or permanent illness or disability
• are a resident or patient at a Veterans Health Administration hospital
• are detained in jail awaiting trial or an action by a grand jury, or are incarcerated for conviction on an offense other than a felony

You do not need a reason to vote by early mail ballot.

You are eligible to vote if:

• You are jailed on a pre-trial basis.
• You are incarcerated on a misdemeanor sentence.
• You are on probation or parole.
• You were convicted of a felony (in New York state or elsewhere) and you are not currently incarcerated. For example, you were convicted of a felony and sentenced only to probation, not incarceration. Or, you were convicted of a felony and sentenced to a period of incarceration, but such incarceration has already ended. You must register to vote after you are released from incarceration following a felony conviction, even if you were registered before.

You are not eligible to vote if:

• You are currently incarcerated (in New York state or elsewhere) on a felony sentence.

If you were registered to vote before your felony sentence began, you must re-register to vote after you are released.

You can vote by mail with an absentee ballot or early mail ballot. You can request a ballot from the New York City Board of Elections or New York State Board of Elections. For more information on requesting a ballot, see vote by mail section.

When an individual is released from felony incarceration, New York State law requires prisons and jails to:

• Notify the released individual "verbally and in writing" that their right to vote will be restored upon release
• Provide the individual with both a voter registration application and a form to decline from registering
• Offer the individual assistance in filling out the application
• Provide the individual with "written information distributed by the board of elections on the importance and mechanics of voting"
• Provide the individual with the option to either submit their completed registration form to their county board of elections directly or have the prison or jail do so

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.

You can check your voter registration at New York City Board of Elections (for NYC voters) or the New York State Board of Elections (for voters not in NYC). 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 have the right to request 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 can give you information on how to track your ballot.
• Later on, 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 or early mail ballot but elected to vote in person.

On the first day of early voting (10 days before Election Day), if you are eligible but not registered to vote, you may register to vote and cast an affidavit ballot that same day. This must be done in person at your local board of elections or an early voting poll site.

If poll workers at a poll site 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 that you are not eligible to vote or that you are at the wrong poll site, they are required to allow you to vote by affidavit ballot. Alternatively, you can request a court order to cast an in-person ballot. The inspector should provide you with a notice informing you of your right to vote by affidavit ballot or seek a court order allowing you to vote.

If you decide to seek a court order, the election inspectors will direct you to your local board of elections office (or other location), where a judge is available. If the judge issues a court order, you can then return to your polling site with the order 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

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 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).

In addition to watching the operation of the poll site, poll watchers are allowed to challenge whether voters who appear at the poll site actually have a right to vote. Scroll up for more information about challenges to the right to vote and how those challenges are resolved by poll workers. However, poll watchers cannot tell you whom to vote for, engage in political discussions, or interfere with your right to vote in any way other than making a proper challenge to a voter's right to vote.

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 someone else's ballot, 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.
• “You will help the other party/candidate by voting.” Be wary of anyone trying to discourage you from voting.
• "Your polling place/date has changed." Consult your local board of elections and the resources they have listed to double check any information you receive, especially 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 and have lived within the county, city, or village where you are voting for at least 30 days before Election Day, you are eligible to vote in person. If you have not yet updated your address on your voter registration, you are still eligible to vote by affidavit ballot at the poll site assigned to your new address. Fill out the ballot envelope completely and your voter registration will be automatically updated to your new address. (For the offices of U.S. president and vice president only, you may be able to vote in person even if you moved within 30 days of the election by applying for a special presidential ballot. Contact your local board of elections for more information.)

If you have moved to or within New York City, check the New York City Board of Elections website for your poll site.

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

If you have moved to New York from another state, you will need to re-register to vote. You may register to vote up to 10 days before Election Day. You may mail in the registration, or you may register in person at your local board of elections office. As another option, on the first day of early voting (10 days before Election Day), you may complete a conditional voter registration and cast an affidavit ballot in person at the board of elections or an early-voting poll site, even if you were not previously registered in New York.

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. For early-voting poll sites, you should receive notification at least five days before the early-voting period begins. 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 adequate 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 your employer is not required to provide you with 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. You must 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 you provided notice but your employer still refuses to give you paid time off, 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 elections to request an absentee or early mail 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.