As election season comes closer, you’ll likely be overwhelmed with information on candidates, policy, and who deserves your vote. For your voice to be heard, however, you first need to register to be eligible to vote. And remember your vote matters.
So, who can register (and thus vote) in the first place? Any US citzen who is 18 or older on election day — and is not currently incarcerated or on parole for a felony (unless cleared by a parole officer) nor declared “mentally incompetent” by a judge — should get registered.
So, how do you register as a first-time voter?
Fill out your state’s form! The United States elections are organized by state, meaning when you register, you are registering to vote in the state in which you live. Note that you need to have been living in the city and state in which you are registering for 30 or more days before the election for which you want to vote occurs. This article will focus on New York State, but this site gives a starting point for registering in other states.
In New York state, to vote, you must submit this form. If you prefer, you can fill the form out in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, or Bengali here. Or, you can access translations in French, Hebrew, Tagalog, Italian, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Russian, Urdu, Polish, Greek, and Albanian here, although these forms still must be submitted in English. You can also request a blank form to be mailed to you here or by calling 1-800-FOR-VOTE.
When you are filling out this form, you will be asked if you want to register under a political party. This will allow you to vote in your party’s primary elections, which will be explained later.
What do you do with this registration form?
Send it in! This can be done in person, meaning you go to a certain location, fill out a registration/give in your finished registration, and government officials will submit the form for you. This can be done at one of the following locations :
DMV (you must bring DMV issued identification)
New York State Agency-based Voter Registration Center
County Board of Elections
Most government buildings including:
Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
City Universities of New York
Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Department of Health - WIC Program
Department of Labor, Department of Social Services
Department of State, Division of Veterans’ Services
Military Recruiting Offices
Or, you can mail your form to your County Board of Elections, which depends on your county. So, first, look up what county you live in and then see the address on this list which matches your county. For example, New York City is in Albany County, so someone from NYC would address their form to the Albany County Board of Elections, located at 260 South Pearl Street in Albany, NY. Then, add postage and mail in your form!
What if, once registered, you cannot make it to a polling station?
An absentee ballot is a way to vote if you cannot get to a polling place in person. Each state is very different in terms of deadlines for when your request for a ballot/ballot must arrive; look into the rules of your state here.
In New York State, once registered, you can request an absentee ballot with this form in English or Spanish. You then submit this form to your County Board of Elections either in person, no later than the day before the election, or through the mail no later than a full week before the election. However, due to current circumstances, we recommend getting these requests submitted as early as possible.
If this request is accepted, your ballot must be delivered in-person to a polling station no later than the closing of that station on election day, or mailed in no later than the day before the election and be received by the polling station no later than a week after the election. We recommend mailing in this ballot at least two weeks before election day.
Do you need to re-register?
If you move out of state, you need to re-register with your new state. If you haven’t voted in the past five years or moved within the state, changed your name, or want to change your party affiliation since the last election, you will need to re-register within your state and follow the directions on the form which deal with these changes.
What are you actually voting for?
There are three types of elections that you can vote in once you are registered. First, if you are registered with party affiliation, you can vote in primary elections on November 3rd, 2020. These occur before the presidential election and offer party members the chance to vote for the candidate by whom they want to be represented; please note you can only vote in the primary elections of the party that you registered for. Second, presidential elections, which will occur June 23rd, 2020, happen every four years. In these, you vote not only for a president and vice president but also for the policies and appointments that this candidate represents. For example, the President has the power to choose the supreme court justices and other positions that help shape American politics. Finally, midterm elections, which are on November 3rd, 2020 this year, occur every two years on the first Tuesday of November. In these, you vote for your state’s governor, mayor, state legislators, and other public officers, depending on the election. These give you the power to change American politics at levels besides presidential.
Overall, your vote lets you shape your country. Happy election season!
This article was written by Samantha Powell. Lucy Nuttall contributed to the research.