How to Vote in the General Election
With Election Day a little over two months away, it is vital that every registered voter has a chance to cast a ballot. In this post, I have included details on how to request and cast an Absentee Ballot for this November’s election, as well as information on how to vote in person and register to vote. All voters in New York will have the choice of three ways to cast their ballots:
- On Election Day – Tuesday, November 3rd;
- At any Early Voting poll site – Saturday, October 24th through Sunday, November 1st (Westchester Early Voting poll sites and hours listed below); or
- By Mail (Absentee Ballot).
For additional information, please check the Westchester County Board of Elections and the New York State Board of Elections.
I hope that all voters will find the voting method that is the safest and works best for them.
Mail-In (Absentee Ballot) Voting
How to Request an Absentee Ballot
- To receive an Absentee Ballot, a voter must submit a request/application. Voters can begin requesting Absentee Ballots immediately. Voters requesting an Absentee Ballot due to risk of contraction of COVID-19 should check the box for “temporary illness or physical disability.”
- In most cases, if you submitted an Absentee Ballot application for the June 23rd Primary, you will need to submit a new application, even if you checked the “general election” box on your original application.
- You can download the Absentee Ballot Application from the Board of Elections
- For Westchester County voters, the Absentee Ballot application may be submitted
- By email to BOE-WestAbsentee@westchestergov.com by Tuesday, October 27th;
- By fax to (914) 995-7753 or (914) 995-3190 by Tuesday, October 27th;
- By mail to the Westchester County Board of Elections, 25 Quarropas Street, White Plains, NY 10601, postmarked no later than Tuesday, October 27th; or
- In person at the Westchester County Board of Elections, 25 Quarropas Street, White Plains, NY 10601 by Monday, November 2nd.
- Additionally, New York State has launched an online Absentee Ballot Application Portal. Since the portal has never been used before, I cannot vouch for its effectiveness, but those wishing to use the portal can find it at https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov/.
- Do not wait to apply for an Absentee Ballot! Despite the posted deadlines, the County Board of Elections will have many ballots to process, and the post office has advised that they cannot guarantee timely delivery of ballots applied for less than 15 days before the election (Monday, October 19th).
- After an application is received and processed, ballots will be mailed out beginning September 18th.
How to Return a Completed Absentee Ballot
- Completed Absentee Ballots must be returned by mail or in person using one of the following methods.
- By mail, either with a postmark dated no later than Tuesday, November 3rd or without a postmark and received by the Board of Elections no later than Wednesday, November 4th.
- In person at the Westchester County Board of Elections no later than Tuesday, November 3rd at the close of polls (9:00 pm).
- In person at any Westchester County Early Voting poll site during voting hours between Saturday, October 24th and Sunday, November 1st. Dates and times for Early Voting poll sites are listed below. If you drop off your Absentee Ballot at an Early Voting poll site, you will not be required to wait in line.
- In person at any Westchester County Election Day poll site on Tuesday, November 3rd. If you drop off your Absentee Ballot at an Election Day poll site, you will not be required to wait in line.
Note on In-Person Voting After Requesting an Absentee Ballot
- All voters who request an Absentee Ballot are still eligible to vote in person, either using Early Voting or on Election Day. This includes voters who never receive their Absentee Ballot or voters who are worried that their returned Absentee Ballot will not arrive in time at the Board of Elections. If a voter does mail a completed Absentee Ballot and also votes in person, only the in-person vote will count. That voter’s Absentee Ballot would be set aside during the counting process.
In-Person Voting
Election Day – Tuesday, November 3rd
- In-Person Voting will occur on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3rd from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. On Election Day, voters must vote at their assigned poll site.
Early Voting – Saturday, October 24th through Sunday, November 1st
- All registered voters may choose to vote Early instead of on Election Day. Registered voters in Westchester County may vote at ANY of the 17 Early Voting poll sites listed below during any of the following days and hours.
- Early Voting Hours
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020 from noon until 5 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 from noon until 5 p.m.
- Monday, Oct. 26, 2020 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020 from noon until 8 p.m.
- Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020 from noon until 8 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 30, 2020 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020 from noon until 5 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020 from noon until 5 p.m.
- Early Voting Poll Sites – voters may vote at ANY site
- Eastchester Public Library, 11 Oakridge Place, Eastchester, NY 10709
- New Rochelle City Hall Annex – 90 Beaufort Place, New Rochelle, NY 10801
- Westchester County Board of Elections, 25 Quarropas Street, White Plains, NY 10601
- Dobbs Ferry Village Hall, 112 Main Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
- Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue, White Plains, NY 10607
- Veterans Memorial Building, 210 Halstead Avenue, Harrison, NY 10528
- Pound Ridge Town House, 179 Westchester Avenue, Pound Ridge, NY 10576
- Mamaroneck Town Center, 740 W. Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, NY 10543
- Mt. Kisco Memorial Complex at Leonard Park, 1 Wallace Drive, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549
- Mt. Pleasant Community Center, 125 Lozza Drive, Valhalla, NY 10595
- Mt. Vernon City Hall, 1 Roosevelt Square, Mt. Vernon, NY 10550
- Joseph G. Caputo Community Center, 95 Broadway, Ossining, NY 10562
- Peekskill Nutrition Center – Neighborhood Center, 4 Nelson Avenue, Peekskill, NY 10566
- Somers Town House, 335 Route 202, Somers, NY 10589
- Grinton I. Will Library, 1500 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10710
- Riverfront Library, One Larkin Center, Yonkers, NY 10701
- Yorktown Cultural Center, 1974 Commerce Street, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
Register to Vote
- It is not too late to register to vote for the November general election. For Westchester County residents, voter registration forms must be submitted to the Board of Elections, 25 Quarropas St, White Plains, NY, 10601. To be eligible to vote in the November 3rd election, the voter registration form must be postmarked or delivered in person by Friday, October 9th. New York state residents with a valid drivers license may also register online at https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/electronic-voter-registration-application.
- If you have moved within Westchester County and would like to update your registration, the Board of Elections must receive your change of address by Wednesday, October 14th. You can update your address by submitting a new voter registration form by mail, in person at the Board of Elections, or, if you have a valid New York State drivers license, through the DMV portal.
- Download the Voter Registration form:
- English: https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/voting/voteregform-eng-fillable.pdf
- Spanish: https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/voting/voteregform-span-fillable.pdf
- Accessible English: https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSVoterRegistrationFormEnglish.html
- Accessible Spanish: https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSVoterRegistrationFormSpanish.html
