Your Vote…Make Sure it Counts!
Information you need before the Nov. 8th General Election
John Lewis said of voting, “Sometimes you have to not just dream about what could be—you get out and push, and you pull, and you preach. And you create a climate and environment to get those in high places, to get men and women of goodwill in power to act.”
Voting is the single most powerful tool that we, as ordinary folk, have to effectuate change in our communities and beyond. It is the very foundation upon which our democracy is built.
Despite the power of voting, the processes to register to vote and cast your ballot are unnecessarily complicated and can be overwhelming. This is especially true for survivors of domestic violence and their families. In addition to the normal obstacles to voting we all face, survivors contend with concerns about their safety and privacy and that of their families.
Voting should be simple, it should be straightforward and, most importantly, it should be safe.
URI’s Government Affairs Team gathered the voting resources below for the benefit of all staff and clients. If you have questions about your rights or any of the information contained in this email, please contact, Lauren Schuster, Vice President of Government Affairs at Lschuster@urinyc.org or Wil Lopez, Director of Government Affairs at Wlopez@urinyc.org.
The General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
On November 8, General Election Day, you can cast your ballot for the following:
Voter Eligibility
To register to vote, you must:
Voter Registration
To register to vote, visit https://voterreg.dmv.ny.gov/MotorVoter/.
You can register to vote by mail by printing a voter registration form, filling it out, and mailing it to your local election office. You can access the form here or aqui.
You can also register to vote in person if you prefer. To find your county board of election, visit .
You can also call New York State’s Voter Assistance Hotline at 1-800-FOR-VOTE (1-800-367-8683) to request a voter application.
The deadlines to register to vote or change your party registration can be found here.
If you are already registered to vote, you can check you registration status by visiting https://www.nycvotersearch.com/.
Special Voting Rules for Survivors of Domestic Violence
Every qualified New Yorker deserves the right to vote safely. New York guarantees that the voter registration of survivors of domestic and gender-based violence is kept confidential.
If you are a survivor of domestic or gender-based violence, you can ensure the confidentiality of your registration status by using an absentee ballot by visiting https://nycabsentee.com/. The rules for voting absentee have recently been broadened, allowing for no-excuse absentee voting.
You may also follow the steps below to ensure that your registration status is not made public.
Step one: Go to a Supreme or Family Court in the borough in which you live for a court order that will require the NYC Board of Elections to keep your voter registration record separate from other records.
If you require assistance requesting the court order, you may visit the court’s help center.
Step two: Take a copy of the court order to your local Board of Elections office to register to vote. If you are already registered to vote, you can present the order at your local board of elections office to ensure that your personal information, such as home address, is kept confidential.
Step three: On Election Day, go to your local polling place to vote as usual. If you are concerned about voting in person, you can contact their local BOE office and request a “Special Absentee Ballot,” which will allow you to vote without having to go to a public polling place.
You may also apply for an absentee ballot by going to https://nycabsentee.com/ and requesting an absentee ballot.
Helpful Guide from NYC Votes here
Voting While in Shelter
Every person, regardless of housing status has the right to vote. If you are staying in an emergency shelter or other temporary accommodation, you have a right to vote using the address of your temporary shelter.
If you were previously registered to vote at another address, you must change your address with the board of elections to the address of your temporary shelter. You may do so by following the rules above to change your address.
If you have not previously been registered to vote any any address, or if your previous registration was purged from the voter rolls, you may follow the rules above to register to vote for the first time using the address of your temporary shelter.
You must update the board of elections with your new address when you move into permanent housing.
For more information, you may visit https://www.nyclu.org/en/issues/voting/your-rights-voting-info.
Voting with a Criminal Record
In New York State, a felony conviction does not prevent you from voting. Once you have been released from prison and completed your parole, you are legally entitled to vote but must re-register by following the steps outlined above.
Important Dates for All Voters
The voter registration deadline to be eligible to vote in the November 8 General Election is Friday, October 14, 2022.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot online is Monday, October 24, 2022
In-person requests for an absentee ballot can be made at the local boards of election until Monday, November 7, 2022.
The General Election will be held on November 8, 2022.
Early voting begins Saturday October 29, 2022, and ends Sunday November 6, 2022.
Every NYC voter can vote early in person before Election Day. Your early voting polling site may be different from your polling site on Election Day.
To find out where you can vote go to https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc/. For more information on early voting, you can go to https://www.nycvotes.org/how-to-vote/early-voting/.
What is on my ballot?
To see what your ballot will look like and learn more about the candidates and any ballot initiatives, you can go to https://www.nycvotes.org/meet-the-candidates/. (Available 2nd week of October).
You may also visit https://vote.nyc/page/find-your-poll-site.
Join us in honoring clients, partners, and supporters who champion our mission and raise funds to enhance our life-changing services. We’re also celebrating a decade of PALS honoring the bond between domestic violence survivors and their pets.