2020 Voting Information

Sep 22

Written By HVNY

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What you need to know about: Voting in 2020

Due to the novel coronavirus, voting for the 2020 Presidential Election has a few more options to ensure the public’s safety and a fair voting process. There are three ways you can vote on November 3, 2020. But first, you must make sure you’re registered to vote!

Check your voter registration status

To vote, you must:

be a United States citizen;
be 18 years old (you may pre-register at 16 or 17 but cannot vote until you are 18);
resident of this state and the county, city or village for at least 30 days before the election;
not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction (unless parolee pardoned or restored rights of citizenship);
not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court;
not claim the right to vote elsewhere.

Although you can register any time during the year, your completed form must be delivered or mailed at least 25 days before the next election for it to be effective for that election. The deadline to register to vote is October 9, 2020.

Register to vote online through the DMV if you have a state-issued ID or, if not, you can register by mail or at your Board of Elections.

More info: https://www.elections.ny.gov/votingregister.html

Three ways to vote in the 2020 federal election

Vote via absentee ballot
- Due to COVID-19, every voter who is eligible can vote via absentee ballot. Select “Temporary Illness or Physical Disability” as the reason for your absence.
- You must apply to receive an absentee ballot. An online portal to request an absentee ballot is now available at: https://absenteeballot.elections.ny.gov/
- Absentee ballots must be requested by October 27, 2020. Ballots must be returned by mail, or in-person* by 9pm on November 3, 2020.
- All election mail will be treated as First-Class Mail or Priority Mail Express. the USPS recommends that voters allow enough time for ballots to be returned to the Board, which is generally seven days ahead of the general election. New York State requires your ballot to be both postmarked by November 3, 2020 and received by your county’s Board of Elections by November 10, 2020.
- *If you do not want to mail-in your absentee ballot, over 300 drop box locations will be available throughout the state, including at your county’s board of elections.

Vote early in-person
- Dates to vote in-person are October 24-November 1, 2020. Locations vary depending on your county (see sidebar for links to your county’s Board of Elections)

Vote in-person on Election Day
- Polls will be open on November 3, 2020 from 6am – 9pm *off-peak times for voting include mid-morning and mid-afternoon

If you decide to vote in-person after receiving an absentee ballot, your in-person vote will be the one that counts; In-person voting will cancel out your vote via absentee ballot.

Anyone ages two and over, and is medically able to, must wear a face covering while in public and when unable to maintain six-feet distance from others. There is currently no requirements recommended by the CDC, like temperature checks, for voters to enter the building. The New York State Board of Elections does recommend that counties plan for “an isolated, separate area in which poll workers may assist a voter that is unable to wear a mask.”

According to the CDC, handling the privacy sleeves and paper ballots are considered a “low risk” transmission potential for COVID-19. Pens must be disinfected after each vote, or single-use pens will be used and discarded after each voter marks their ballot.

Sources:

https://www.ny.gov/early-voting-and-absentee-voting-mail-or-dropbox

https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/Elections/Covid19FAQs.pdf

https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingDeadlines.html

Poll workers needed! Unemployment benefits will not be impacted for poll workers

Due to COVID-19, New York is experiencing a critical shortage of poll workers. Historically, 55 percent of all New York’s poll workers are over the age of 60, making them especially vulnerable to the pandemic. This has resulted in a significant need for poll workers who are willing and able to assist with the administration of in-person voting during this year’s general election.

Poll workers get paid for training and each day they work, and if you’re currently on unemployment, a new executive order signed on Tuesday will allow “New Yorkers collecting unemployment to become per diem, part-time poll workers for local or New York State Boards of Elections without impacting unemployment benefits.”

Find out more at: https://www.elections.ny.gov/BecomePollworker.html

“The single most important way to shape the future of this state and this nation is to exercise your right to vote. Now more than ever it is critical that we all do our part to participate in the democratic process.”

— Governor Andrew Cuomo

Information compiled by Niki DeLawder/HVNY

To check your polling place, view a sample ballot in your area, and for the unofficial results, visit your county’s Board of Elections website below:

Columbia County

Board of Elections: 401 State Street, Hudson https://sites.google.com/a/columbiacountyny.com/elections/

Absentee ballots: Send by mail to 401 State Street, Hudson, NY 12534 by email: absentee@columbiacountyny.com or by personal delivery to the Board of Elections, 401 State Street, Hudson.

Early voting location: 401 State Street, Hudson, NY 12534 (regardless of where you live in Columbia County)