Absentee Voting

[James Sherman]

Hello Colleagues,

Here is some more information regarding voting. Please share.


This year New York State has instituted three ways to vote. These are
in-person early voting, vote on election day or by submitting an absentee
ballot. In this post, I will be reviewing the Art of Absentee Voting.
Absentee Voting isn’t as hard as you may think, however it does require a
lot of vigilance on your part. Here are some things to consider when
contemplating absentee voting in New York.

However, please note that the information given in this post is
highlighting only New York State absentee balloting. Each state and
territory in the United States has a different methodology to voting. I
would encourage you to visit your states website for their absentee or
mail-in voting procedures.

To change your voter registration start here: Register to Vote in NY State
<https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingRegister.html>

What is Absentee Balloting:

Absentee Balloting is a way for people to vote in the event that they could
not vote in person on election day. An absentee ballot could be submitted
for many different reasons ranging from being hospitalized to being away
from home (i.e. at college or traveling abroad). This year New York has
expanded that to include stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Requesting a Ballot:

To receive an absentee ballot, you must first request one. To do this
electronically click here. <https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov/>  You
must be registered to vote first, before you can request a ballot, Click
Here <https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingRegister.html> to figure out how
to register.

How to turn in your ballot once you have received it:

There are 4 ways to submit your ballot. Please note that 2-4 options are
only for local residents of Clinton County. Anyone outside of Clinton,
needs to use option 1.

   1.

   Put it in the mail, before or by November 3rd. Earlier the better!
   2.

   Drop it off at an early poll site between Oct. 24th and Nov. 1st
   3.

   Drop it off on the day of the election at a poll site on Nov. 3rd.
   4.

   Drop it off at your County Board of Elections. You can do this
starting Sept.
   8th to Nov. 3rd.


Absentee Voting Requires Vigilance:

What do I mean when I say absentee voting requires vigilance? Well, it
means you need to check your mail regularly when you request one, it means
reading the instructions thoroughly and knowing the deadlines. All it takes
is one mistake for your absentee ballot to not be accepted. The Board of
Elections has to follow a strict set of rules and guidelines to ensure that
elections are done correctly and fairly, otherwise it could jeopardize the
legitimacy of an election. So a lot of the burden of making sure your
ballot is filled out correctly and turned in on time, is placed on the
voter. So to avoid your ballot being tossed, do these things:


   1.

   Submit your request for a ballot early.
   2.

   Read the instructions, before filling out the ballot.
   3.

   Submit or send your ballot in early.  This is very important!
   4.

   If you requested a ballot early, and have not received a ballot by the
   time early voting starts Call your Board of Elections Office right away!
   Click Here
   <https://www.ny.gov/early-voting-and-absentee-voting-mail-or-dropbox#county-boards>
   for a listing of contact information for your BOE. Early Voting starts
   Oct. 24th!


Absentee Voting is very convenient and safe. It allows you to vote from the
safety of your home and vote in your local elections when you’re away.
However, it does come with some risk (i.e. user errors, slow mail delivery
etc), but if a voter is vigilant and follows the advice above, absentee
balloting does work and is a safe alternative to in-person voting.

If in general, you are someone who doesn’t check their mail regularly, or
can be disorganized, super busy and/or forgetful, I would advise you to
register locally and do either early voting or election day voting.  Though
absentee ballots can be requested by everyone, it may not be conducive to
your lifestyle and that is something to consider before requesting one.

Last day to apply online, email, fax or postmark an application for an
absentee ballot is Oct. 27th. The last day to apply in-person for an
absentee ballot is November 2nd.

All ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3rd and received by Nov. 10th to be
considered.

Don’t wait to request your ballot, request it today click here
<https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov/> and happy voting!
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