Suffolk County Legislature presiding officer Rob Calarco is reminding Suffolk
County voters of the various ways they can cast their ballots in the November
general election, including voting absentee, voting early from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, or voting in person on Election Day.
New York State has enacted several measures to give voters more options to
cast ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic, including allowing any voter concerned about exposure to COVID-19 to request an absentee ballot.
“I commend our state government for making it easier for people to participate in the election process during the ongoing pandemic, and I am proud of the dedicated work of Suffolk County’s elections officials to plan for the wave of absentee ballots and implementation of extra safety measures during in-person voting,” said Calarco. “Voting is one of the most important duties we have as citizens living in a democracy, and with so many options to cast a ballot in New York this year, it has never been easier to have a say in our government’s future. I encourage every registered voter to exercise their right to vote in whatever way they feel most comfortable.”
This year, Election Day falls on Nov 3. In addition to casting a vote in the
U.S. Presidential race, voters will also be able to weigh in on races for seats in
the House of Representatives, New York State Senate and New York State Assembly as well as judgeships and other local races. Several referendums will also be on the ballot, including one county measure to extend the term of legislators from two years to four years and another county measure to transfer excess funds in the Sewer Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund to the Suffolk County Taxpayers Trust Fund.
In New York, voters have three options for casting their ballots: by absentee, in
person during a nine-day early voting period prior to Election Day, or in person
on Election Day.
Requests for absentee ballots can be made online through New York’s absentee ballot portal at https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov. Those wishing to vote by absentee may also communicate a request to the Suffolk County Board of
Elections by phone (631-852-4515) or send a completed absentee ballot application by email (absentee.voters@suffolkcountyny.gov), fax (631-852-4590) or mail (Suffolk BOE, Box 700, Yaphank, NY 11980). If a voter does not complete an absentee application and instead sends a letter request, the voter must include their name, date of birth, the reason for the request, the address where they are registered, and an address where they want the ballot to be sent.
When selecting or indicating their reason for requesting an absentee ballot, voters who are concerned about COVID-19 should select “temporary illness or disability.”
The deadline to request an absentee ballot online or by email, fax or phone
is Oct. 27; however, postal officials have advised that they cannot guarantee timely delivery of ballots applied for fewer than 15 days before an election. Voters may apply in-person at the Suffolk County Board of Elections in Yaphank until Nov. 2. Elections officials expected to begin mailing absentee ballots to voters who requested them around Sept. 18.
Elections officials are reminding voters that if they requested an absentee ballot for the primary election in June, they must make another request for the
November general election, even if they indicated in the spring they wanted to
vote by absentee for both elections.
If completed ballots are returned by mail, they must be postmarked on or
before Election Day, and they will be counted as long as they are received by
the board of elections by Nov. 10. Ballots may also be dropped off at the Suffolk County Board of Elections, any early voting location from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, or at polling locations on Election Day.
Suffolk County Board of Elections site: https://suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/BOE
New York State absentee ballot portal: https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov
FAQ: https://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/BOE/Absentee-Voting-FAQ
Absentee ballot application to send by email, mail or fax:
English: https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/voting/AbsenteeBallot-English.pdf
Spanish: https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/voting/
AbsenteeBallot-Spanish.pdf
Early voting will take place from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1. Anyone who is registered to
vote in Suffolk County can vote during this nine-day period before Election Day
at any of 12 early voting sites throughout Suffolk County:
Babylon Town Hall Annex, 281 Phelps Lane, North Babylon, NY 11703
Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY 11738
Mastic Recreation Community Center, 15 Herkimer St., Mastic, NY 11950
Riverhead Senior Center, 60 Shade Tree Lane, Riverhead
Windmill Village, 219 Accabonac Road, East Hampton, NY 11937
Stony Brook University Southampton Campus, 70 Tuckahoe Road, Southampton NY 11968
Southold Senior Center, 750 Pacific St., Mattituck NY 11952
Dix Hills Fire Department, 115 East Deer Park Road, Dix Hills, NY 11746
Huntington Public Library Station Branch, 1335 New York Ave., Huntington
Station, NY 11746
Knights of Columbus, 96 2nd Ave., Brentwood NY 11717
Islip Town Hall Annex, 401 Main St., Islip, NY 11751
Nesconset Elementary School, 29 Gibbs Pond Road, Nesconset, NY 11767
(Use the Browns Road Entrance)
On Saturday, Oct. 24 and Sunday, Oct. 25, polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Monday, Oct. 26, polls will open early, at 7 a.m., and close at 3 p.m. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, voting will begin at noon and extend into the evening hours, closing at 8 p.m. On Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Oct. 29, polls will open at 8 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. On Friday, Oct. 30, polls will be open from noon to 8 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 31 and Sunday, Nov. 1, voters will be able to cast their votes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is no early voting on Monday, Nov. 2.
Visit the Suffolk County Board of Elections website for a full list of early voting
locations as well as voting hours. Booths, privacy sleeves and pens will be repeatedly sanitized to ensure everyone’s safety.
Voters can cast their ballot only once; those who vote during the early voting
period are not eligible to vote on Nov. 3.
Voters may also cast ballots on Election Day, Nov. 3, at their regular polling places between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Booths, privacy sleeves and pens will be repeatedly sanitized to ensure everyone’s safety. Voter registration and polling site information is available at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.
To register to vote in Suffolk County for the Nov. 3 general election, you must be a United States citizen, be 18 years old by the date of the general election, be a resident of Suffolk County for at least 30 days before the election, not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction (unless the parolee was pardoned or restored rights of citizenship), not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court, and not claim the right to vote elsewhere.
Future voters can register in person at the Suffolk County Board of Elections
or at any New York State Agency-Based voter registration center. Voter application forms can also be submitted through the Department of Motor Vehicles, either in person or online at https://voterreg.dmv.ny.gov/MotorVoter/. Requests for a voter registration form to be mailed can be submitted at https://www.elections.ny.gov/VoterRegSite/VoterRegistration or by calling the 1-800-FOR-VOTE hotline.
Voter applications must be postmarked no later than Oct. 9 and received by the board of elections no later than Oct. 14 to be eligible to vote in the upcoming general election.
For more information, visit https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingRegister.html.
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