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1. How do I get an absentee ballot?

You must submit a signed application by mail or in person, to your county Board of Elections. Depending on the situation, we will either mail a ballot to you or issue it to you right then. Individuals who are permanently disabled, who are unable to get to the polls may apply for Permanent Absentee Status which means that a ballot will be sent each  time they are eligible to vote, all General Elections, Primaries in their party, School and Library Elections.

Absentee Ballot Application (PDF)

2. How do I change my political party enrollment?

To change party enrollment you must submit a new voter registration card with the new party marked.  These changes are immediate, but will be deferred during a period before any primary through the Primary Election. Immediately following the Primary Election, these deferred requested changes are actually made.  In 2020, this deferral period commences on February 14th and extends through June 30th. All the voters receive a new voter card showing their new party.

3. What are the requirements/procedures to run for political office?

To run for political office in New York State you must be a resident, 18 years old and a US citizen. In order to have your name appear on the ballot for an office you will have to pass petitions to collect a certain number of signatures.  See minimum signature requirements in Candidates.  These minimums vary by office sought and by town.

Designating Petitions are filed for candidates who wish to run in a specific political party. These are circulated and filed in late February, March and early April each year. Independent Petitions are for candidates who wish to appear on the ballot without the support of a specific organized  political party. These Independent Petitions are circulated in April and May.  Please review the information on this web site under “Candidates” for current information and the calendar of dates. Please also review Campaign Finance then, Call the Board of Elections 315-536-5135 for more specific information. For complete petition packets, including instructions, visit the Board of Elections.

Candidates.

4. What are the platforms/beliefs of the various political parties?

“Official” Parties in New York State – based on the number of votes received in the last election for Governor. 

     Web sites are listed to allow parties to speak for themselves:

•  Democratic Party                           www.nydems.org
•  Republican Party                           www.nygop.org
•  Conservative Party                        www.cpnys.org  
•  Working Families Party                 www.workingfamiliesparty.org  
•  Independence Party of NY            www.ipny.org   or email:  [email protected]
• Green Party                                    www.gpnys.org or email:  chair2gpny.org

Political Party Quick Links

5. How do I get a replacement voter registration card?

Call our office at 315-536-5135 or stop at the office in the Yates  County Office Building, 417 Liberty Street, and we can issue a new card. If you take your card with you to the polls to vote it can expedite the process.

6. How do I get excused from jury duty?

The Board of Elections has nothing to do with the selection of jurors. Margaret DiMartino is the Commissioner of Jurors and can be reached at  315-536-5126.

7. How do I know you received my voter registration application?

During most of the year, you will receive a Voter Acknowledgement Card within about 10 days of submitting your registration to us. We are not allowed to enter new voters for about a month prior to an election. If you apply during that time, you will get your ID card after the election. Please review the card to verify your info, should you have a  question, just call the office, 315-536-5135.  Please consider taking the card with you when you go to vote, it should expedite the process for you. If there are errors in the registration, you should notify the Board of Elections so the registration information can be corrected.

8. What if I move within Yates County – do I need to notify your office?

Yes, please! We need to have accurate, residence and  mailing, addresses for all voters registered in the county. On or about March 1st every year, we send yellow cards to every voter in the county to confirm their address and voting district. Unfortunately we get hundreds back because people have moved and not told us, or left incorrect "forwarding or temporarily away" information with the Federal Post Office. To assist us, the Motor Vehicle Office will notify us for you when you update your address with them. 

9. If I am registered in another county within New York and move to Yates County, is my voter registration automatically transferred?

YES. Starting in 2019, when a registered voter moves between counties in the state, the voter’s registration will go with them to the new county.  Your party affiliation will remain intact as well.  You will receive a card at your new residence with the change of address notification.

View Voter Forms and Applications.

10. How do I become an election Inspector?

The Board of Elections provides training annually for all those who want  to work as Inspectors. Since we are always looking for additional inspectors, just let us know of your interest by phone at 315-536, or e-mail [email protected]  or by stopping at our office in the Yates County Office Building at 417 Liberty Street, Suite 1124. You will receive a packet of forms to complete and will be scheduled for your initial new inspector training.  These training session will normally occur in March and September or October.  You will then be offered further training on the various electronic devices used at the polling sites.  

11. Why do you send me a voter card every year?

Each March, “Mail Check Cards” go to every registered voter in the county to verify their address. These cards allow the voters to verify the party in which they are enrolled and where they vote. 

12. What is Early Voting?

Starting in 2019, voters are able to vote at designated early voting sites for nine days, starting 11 days before the usual Tuesday election day.  Here, the poll site is in the County Office Building, Liberty Street, Penn Yan, and voting starts on Saturday and ends 9 days later on Sunday.  The poll opens at 9 AM every day in that period, and is open at least 5 hours on Saturdays and Sundays, 8 hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 11 hours on Tuesday and Thursday.

13. Is our voting system secure?

Your voting system is kept completely separate from any other digital or internet system.  It stands alone in our vault with an air gap completely around it so that no outsider can hack into it or manipulate its vote counting processes.  There are no fewer than six bipartisan verification steps and seals that prevent a partisan person from tampering with the ballot counting devices deployed to the polling sites.  Your registration data at the poll site is not communicated anywhere and resides entirely within the electronic poll books on the inspectors’ tables.  The paper ballot you are handed is blank and cannot be identified with you, the voter.  The only records kept amount to the number of ballots printed and issued and the number of ballots cast either in the machine, spoiled/destroyed because of errors by the voter, or segregated in sealed envelopes when the voter attempts to vote at a poll site other than where he or she is registered.