Help me vote in New York City

November 3, 2012 4:20 PM

[NYS Voting filter] I am registered in Westchester County. I will be stuck in New York City on Election Day. Can I vote?

1) I don't have an absentee ballot, and can't apply for one now.
2) I don't want to change my registration or permanent home address.
3) I can't go home on Election Day.

All the info I was able to find online specifically talks about moving, and updating your registration information.

Does anyone know if I can go to my nearest polling place in Brooklyn/Manhattan and still vote for my county? If not, what can I do now, aside from going home on Election Day, to vote?

posted by war wrath of wraith to law & government (12 answers total)

No, what you describe in your post is true, you cannot vote. You certainly cannot vote in NYC as you are not registered there.
posted by Jahaza at 4:42 PM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

What the. You have one answer and that is to Go Home. You can't vote in Brooklyn/Manhattan when you're registered in another county.

If your employer is not letting you vote, due to work requirements, there are some things they need to do to, in theory, allow you to vote. From NY.gov But, really, you need to go home and vote.
posted by Stynxno at 4:44 PM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why can't you go home to vote on election day?

if the reason is "I have to work", the truth is that your boss is legally required to give you two hours of paid time off to go vote, scheduled in such a way that you will have a total of four hours to take care of your civic duty.

Read more here and here

Keep in mind though, that if this is the case, you need to act now. A minimum notice of 48 hours is required form you to exercise this right.


Your other option, in the general case, is a mail in absentee ballot. However, the deadline to acquire one of these has long since passed. For future elections, be sure to have this sorted out ahead of time. Remember, you can always request an absentee ballot and then not use it, so if you think there's even a chance you won't be able to reach your polling place on election day, request one, and then you can make the decision about whether to use it at a later date.
posted by TTIKTDA at 4:50 PM on November 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

two options:

1. Go home and vote on election day

2. Stay in NYC and don't vote
posted by Sal and Richard at 5:05 PM on November 3, 2012

Will you be in westchester on monday? if so go to the board of elections and vote absentee then.
posted by brujita at 5:14 PM on November 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is your inability to get to Westchester somehow related to hurricane Sandy? You could try calling the board of elections in your town and see if they have any suggestions.

Apparently, New Jersey residents who have been displaced by Hurricane Sandy will be able to vote in the election on Tuesday through e-mail or fax. Sounds crazy to me, but if your problems are Sandy related there may be a solution for you.
posted by alms at 8:46 PM on November 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

You can call Westchester County Board of Elections on Monday after 9am [phone] to find out if you have more options.
posted by Margalo Epps at 7:37 AM on November 4, 2012

Will you be in westchester on monday? if so go to the board of elections and vote absentee then.

^^The state extended the day to apply for absentee ballots, in person, at your board of elections site, until Monday, Nov. 5th.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 10:55 AM on November 4, 2012

Cuomo just announced that he's signing an executive order that will allow people to fill out an affidavit and vote at any polling place.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 2:28 PM on November 5, 2012

I was just coming in to say what evidenceofabsence said. You can vote for president and senate but not for local/state races that are geographic specific.
posted by Stynxno at 2:46 PM on November 5, 2012

Came here to say the same thing, you can read more about it here.
posted by jessamyn at 5:34 PM on November 5, 2012

(Just coming back in to point out the fine print part. From the article linked by jessamyn: "However, voters must cast their ballots within their state legislative district in order to have their vote count towards associated races, such as for State Senate or State Assembly."

So you can vote for president and senator at any polling site in the state, but can only vote for local elections in your district.)
posted by evidenceofabsence at 10:05 PM on November 5, 2012