NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today reminded New Yorkers that voting by mail is safe and secure, and urged voters who plan to vote by mail to request and return their ballots as soon as possible. With early voting beginning this Saturday, October 24, Attorney General James emphasized that New Yorkers can be confident their ballot will be counted, no matter how they choose to cast it. Saturday, October 24 is also the last day to request a mail ballot online or by mail.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG)’s Election Protection Hotline will be available to help voters resolve problems from Saturday, October 24 through Wednesday, November 4. New Yorkers can call 866-390-2992 or submit a complaint online.
“No matter how they vote, New Yorkers should feel confident their ballots will be counted,” said Attorney General James. “Mail voting in New York is safe, secure, and trusted by New Yorkers in every corner of our state. When the federal government tried to attack mail ballots, we went to court and stopped it. I am urging New Yorkers not to let anyone shake their confidence in our election system. Request your ballot, send it back early, and make your voice heard.”
New York’s mail voting system has strong safeguards at every step. Bipartisan teams of election workers review every mail ballot envelope and check each voter’s signature against their registration record. Once officials process a ballot, they update the voter’s record so no one can vote twice. If a ballot envelope has a fixable problem, such as a missing signature, election officials must notify the voter and give them a chance to fix it. Voters can follow their ballot from application to count using the State Board of Elections’ online ballot tracker.
Any registered voter can request a mail ballot without any excuse or justification. These differ from absentee ballots, which are offered to voters unable to vote in person for a specific, stated reason. Mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by the county Board of Elections by one week after Election Day – Tuesday, November 10 – to count.
Because of changes in how the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) applies postmarks, a ballot dropped in a mailbox will not likely be postmarked until the next day or later. Attorney General James encourages voters to mail in their ballots as early as possible and, if mailing close to Election Day, to ask for a free hand-stamped postmark at a post office counter. Alternatively, voters can drop their ballots off in person at their county Board of Elections, any early voting site in their county, or any open poll site in their county by 9 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can even go to their local BOE office, request and complete an early mail ballot, and submit it all in the same trip.
Attorney General James reassures voters that mail voting in New York will work this fall exactly as state law provides. In August, at the president’s direction, USPS issued a rule that would have allowed the agency to refuse to deliver mail ballots to eligible voters whose names were not on a new federal list, or whose envelopes did not meet new federal requirements. Attorney General James and a coalition sued and secured a court order blocking the rule, which the U.S. Supreme Court later upheld. In June, the Supreme Court also rejected an effort to require that mail ballots arrive by Election Day, preserving New York’s law that ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive within seven days. After months of attacking mail voting, even the president is now encouraging voters to cast their ballots by mail.
New Yorkers voting by mail in the November 3 general election should keep these deadlines in mind:
- Saturday, October 24: Last day that county boards of elections will process mail ballot applications submitted online, by mail, email, or fax. It is also the last day to register to vote.
- Saturday, October 24 through Sunday, November 1: Early voting. Anyone can drop off their completed mail ballot at any early voting site in their county.
- Monday, November 2: Last day to apply for a mail ballot in person at a county board of elections.
- Tuesday, November 3, Election Day: Mailed ballots must be postmarked by today. Voters can also drop off their ballots at any poll site in their county or at their county board of elections until 9:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, November 10: Last day for mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive.
Attorney General James also offers the following tips for New Yorkers voting by mail:
- Apply online now. Voters who have not yet requested their ballot can apply online through the State Board of Elections. A paper application mailed this week may not arrive before the October 24 deadline.
- Skip the mail, if preferred. Ballots can be returned in person at any early voting site or Election Day poll site in a voter’s county, or at their county board of elections.
- Make sure to sign. Follow the instructions that come with the ballot and sign and date the envelope where indicated.
- Track a ballot. Voters can visit voterlookup.elections.ny.gov to confirm their county board of elections received and counted their ballot. Voters in New York City can visit requestballot.vote.nyc/tracking to track their ballot.
- Changed your mind? You can still vote in person. Voters who requested, but have not submitted, a mail ballot can still vote in person using an affidavit ballot. Once it is verified that you have not submitted a ballot already, your vote will be counted.
New Yorkers who run into problems voting by mail, during early voting, or on Election Day can contact the Office of the Attorney General’s Election Protection Hotline at (866) 390-2992 or submit a complaint online.
