Absentee Ballots - Military Voting - Federal Voting

Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot

• absent from your county or, if a resident of the city of New York absent from said city, on Election Day;
• unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability;
• a patient in a Veterans’ Administration Hospital;
• detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony
• How to Vote by Absentee Ballot
• Applications for Absentee Ballots are available at your county board of elections.
• You may also click this link of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form http://www.elections.state.ny.us/NYSBOE/download/voting/Absentee06152010.pdf
• Upon completion, applications must be mailed to your county board no later than the seventh day before the election or delivered in person no later than the day before the election.
• You may also request an Absentee Ballot by sending a letter to your county board of elections. The letter must be received by your county board no earlier than 30 days and no later than seven days before the election.
•  The letter must contain the following information:  the address where you are registered; an address where the ballot is to be sent; the reason for the request, and the signature of the voter.
• An application form will be mailed with your ballot. The application form must be completed and returned with your ballot.
• If you cannot pick up your ballot, or will not be able to receive it through the mail, you have the right to designate someone to pick it up for you. Only that person designated on your application may pick up and deliver your ballot.
• If you are permanently ill or disabled, you have the right to receive an Absentee Ballot for each subsequent election without further application. Simply file an application with your board of elections containing a statement which describes the particulars of your illness or disability. The Board will review the facts stated, and if satisfied, will mark your registration record. You will then automatically receive an absentee ballot for every election until your registration is canceled.

Military Voting

• Persons serving in the military may vote from their designated 'home of record', regardless of where they may be stationed or for how long.
• If that 'home of record' is in New York, you may register and vote in local, state and federal elections by completing an application and sending it to the board of elections in your 'home of record' county.
• Your application will register you and also serve as your absentee ballot application, and will be valid for 2 federal elections.
• Applications are available from your Voting Assistance Officer on base, or you can visit http://www.fvap.gov/ for forms and information.
• Always be sure to share any change of address information with your Board of Elections http://www.elections.state.ny.us/CountyBoards.html 
• Questions? Call the State Board of Elections at 518-473-5086 or the Federal Voter Assistance Program at 1-800-438-8683, or contact your Voting Assistance Officer or US Embassy office.

Federal Voting

United States citizens living outside of the United States are entitled to vote from their last United States address.  If that address was in New York, your completed application should be sent to the board of elections in the county in which you lived, prior to moving overseas.http://www.elections.state.ny.us/CountyBoards.html 

• Your application will register you and also serve as your absentee ballot application.
• You may vote for federal offices:
  • President/Vice President
  • United States Senate
  • Congressional representatives
  In years in which presidential conventions are held, you may also be eligible to vote for those convention delegates. Once registered, you will receive ballots by mail for each of these elections in which you are eligible to vote.
• Your application will be valid for 2 federal elections.
• Once registered, you will receive forms directly from your board of elections, on which you must update your overseas address. Always be sure to share any change of address information with your Board of Elections http://www.elections.state.ny.us/CountyBoards.html
• If you move back to the US, contact your board of elections, to have your registration reflect that change.
• Visit http://www.fvap.gov/ for forms and information.
• Questions? Call the State Board of Elections at 518-473-5086 or the Federal Voter Assistance Program at 1-800-438-8683, or your United States Embassy office.

Information obtained from the New York State Board of Elections