OCTOBER 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 9
IN THE NEWS
2020 ELECTIONS
KEY VOTER DEADLINES
BY TIMOTHY BOLGER
As Election Day nears and questions
linger about how well the U.S. Postal
Service will handle a spike in absentee
ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic,
deadlines loom for voters.
Several federal lawsuits are pending
to reserve cost-cutting changes at the
Postal Service made by newly appointed
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a political
fundraiser for President Donald
Trump. Democrats accused DeJoy of trying
to put his thumb on the scales to help
Trump, which he has denied. A surge in
mail-in ballots is expected because of the
coronavirus pandemic.
“The Postal Service is ready and fully
committed to handling expected
increased volumes of Election Mail
between now and the conclusion of the
November 3rd election,” the agency said
in a statement.
Here’s what voters need to do to ensure
their vote is counted in the upcoming
election.
REGISTRATION
People wishing to cast ballots in the
upcoming presidential election need
to make sure they are registered to
vote. Voters can print out a New York
State voter registration form found at
elections.ny.gov, call 1-800-FOR-VOTE to
have an application mailed home, or find
an application at any local post office.
Applications must be postmarked by
Oct. 9 and received by either the Board of
Elections in Nassau or Suffolk counties by
Oct. 14 for a voter to be eligible. Change of
address forms for voters who are already
registered must also be received by Oct. 14.
Suffolk residents can mail their applications
to the Suffolk County Board of
Elections, P.O. Box 700, 700 Yaphank Ave.,
Yaphank, NY 11980. Nassau residents can
mail their applications to Nassau County
Board of Elections, 240 Old Country
Rd., 5th Floor, P.O. Box 9002, Mineola,
NY 11501. Voters can also drop off their
applications in person at these locations.
To be eligible, voters must be 18 years
old by Nov. 3, Election Day, a U.S. citizen
A sample ballot for Republican voters in the New York primary election on April 19, 2016. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
not serving prison time for or on parole
for a felony, and not have claimed the
right to vote elsewhere.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS
New York State voters concerned about
potentially being exposed to COVID-19
at local polling places can request an
absentee ballot to vote by mail. To apply,
download the absentee ballot request
form at absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov,
email BOEInfo@suffolkcountyny.gov
for a copy, and mail the completed form
to one of the two Boards of Elections
addresses above. Military service
members serving overseas can apply
at fvap.gov
Voters using an absentee ballot because
of the pandemic can write “COVID” or
select the box next to “temporary illness
or physical disability” in section one of
the application form.
Absentee ballot request forms must be
emailed, faxed, or postmarked by Oct.
27. Nov. 2 is the last day to apply for an
absentee ballot in person at the Boards
of Elections offices.
Once a voter has received, filled out,
signed, dated, and secured an absentee
ballot in the envelope provided,
the ballot must be postmarked by Nov.
3 and received by the Boards of Elections
by Nov. 10, but the post office does
not guarantee mail will arrive in less
than two weeks. Military ballots must
be received by Nov. 16. And absentee
ballots dropped off in person must be
received by Nov. 3 and handed to an
election worker.
Besides the pandemic, voters can also
request absentee ballots if they’re unavoidably
away from their home county
on Election Day, unable to go to the polls
due to an illness or injury, are a patient
at a Veterans’ Administration Hospital,
are jailed, or serving a prison sentence
for anything other than a felony.
EARLY VOTING
Voters can cast their ballots at any one
of the 12 early voting sites in Suffolk or
15 early voting sites in Nassau between
Oct. 24 and Nov. 1. Suffolk locations and
times can be found at suffolkcountyny.
gov and Nassau early voting locations
and times can be found at nassaucountyny.
gov
ELECTION DAY
Voters can cast their ballots at the local
polling place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Masks and social
distancing will be required. To make
sure you’re registered to vote and find
your polling place, visit voterlookup.
elections.ny.gov
-With Reuters
“The Postal Service is ready and fully committed to
handling expected increased volumes
of Election Mail,” the agency said.
/elections.ny.gov
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/elections.ny.gov
link
/absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov
/fvap.gov
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