WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 8, 2020 7
Everything you need to know about
voting in New York this election season
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
In case you haven’t heard, a global
pandemic has forced democracy
to adapt in a number of ways and
your best bet of having your voice
heard in the Nov. 3 presidential
election may come with a number
of obstacles.
For New York, as in other places,
this has come in form of absentee
ballots being made available to anyone
who requests to cast their vote
by mail in order to avoid other humans
who may be carrying COVID-
19 and has come with a variety of
dysfunctions as seen in the June 23
primaries.
So consider this article an explainer
of how to cast your vote in a
way that guarantees it will count.
DATES TO REMEMBER
If you are not registered to vote,
you will need to do so by Oct. 9. If
you are registered to vote and wish
to submit a mail-in ballot, you must
file a request by Oct. 27.
Once you receive a ballot, you’re
encouraged to fill it out right away
and then mail it back right away, or
drop it off at Board of Elections offices
citywide before Oct. 24.
Recent cutbacks at the U.S. Postal
Service, however, have caused delays
in mailing, so keep this in mind
if you’re opting for a mail-in ballot.
The Board of Elections will accept
any mail-in ballot postmarked by
Nov. 3.
Early voting begins on Oct. 24
and runs through Nov. 1. During
this period, those who opted for
mail-in ballots can drop them off
at their nearest early voting site.
Anyone who opted not to mail-in
their vote can visit their designated
early voting site and cast their vote
in person.
Nov. 3, of course, is Election Day,
and polling places will be open citywide.
If you haven’t voted by mail or
voted early, you can vote in person
at your designated polling place. If
you received a mail-in ballot and
haven’t yet returned it, you can also
bring it to your local polling place
and submit it there.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS
COVID-19 made the need for absentee
voting critical in that it reduced
crowding at polling locations and
prior to the pandemic, a New Yorker
had to meet certain criteria qualify
for a mail-in ballot such as being
absent from the five boroughs or
the state on election day.
QNS/File
Governor Andrew Cuomo opened
the floodgates to mail-in voting in
April when he signed an executive
order making it available to all for
the June 23 primary. That order was
eventually extended through the
Nov. 3 election.
The deadline to apply for an absentee
ballot online is Oct. 27 and official
last day to have your envelope
postmarked is on Nov. 3. Another
surefire way of being counted is by
dropping off your ballot at a polling
site or your county BOE office.
One thing to remember is that your
absentee ballot could come with the
words “Official absentee military
ballot,” regardless of whether or not
you serve in the military.
The New York City Campaign Finance
Board explains that normally,
these ballots would come as “absentee/
military.” The slash may have
been included in the June primary
ballots but do not exist this time
around, though the CFB assures voters
that this is just a design change;
they are perfectly valid for civvies.
If your ballot has any errors in
regard to your personal information,
which could be directly on the
envelope, contact the BOE by calling
1-866-VOTE-NYC or by emailing
them at apply4absentee@boe.nyc.
EARLY VOTING
Voters can show up early to vote,
just find one of the many poll sites
that will be open from Oct. 24 to
Nov. 1.
A full list of early voting sites in
the five boroughs are listed on the
New York City BOE page.
POLLING SITE SAFETY
The Board of Elections will continue
to take great precautions at
each polling site, both for early voting
and on Election Day, to protect
in-person voters and ballot workers
from contracting COVID-19.
All in-person voters will be required
to wear masks and practice
social distancing when they show
up at their polling places.
All staff on duty must also abide
by these rules. Hand sanitizer
will be available at each polling
location, and voting booths will be
socially distanced and regularly
cleaned.
SECURITY OF MAIL-IN
VOTING
Despite what some might have
you believe, mail-in voting is safe
and secure. Other states have been
voting by mail for years, and there
have been no reports of widespread
fraud of any sort. The president,
himself, requested a mail-in ballot
for this election.
If you requested an absentee
ballot by mail, your options are to
return the completed ballot by mail,
or drop them off at the local Board
of Elections office, your local early
voting location during the early voting
period, or at your local polling
place on Election Day.
No one can vote more than once,
as no one can receive more than one
ballot.
The Board of Elections is tracking
each ballot sent by mail. You
can check the status of your ballot
online at their website, nycabsentee.
com/tracking.
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
OFFICES
If you receive a mail-in absentee
ballot and you wish to drop the
completed ballot off before early
voting or election day, as noted, you
can bring them to your local Board
of Elections office weekdays during
business hours.
Here are the locations:
Bronx — 1780 Grand Concourse,
5th Floor. 718-299-9017
Brooklyn — 345 Adams St., 4th
Floor. 718-797-8800.
Manhattan — 200 Varick St., 10th
Floor. 212-886-2100.
Queens — 118-35 Queens Blvd.,
Forest Hills. 718-730-6730.
Staten Island — 1 Edgewater Plaza,
4th Floor. 718-876-0079.
With reporting by Robert
Pozarycki
/WWW.QNS.COM
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