The New York State Board of Elections has created an absentee ballot web portal that allows all registered voters to apply for an absentee ballot. The web portal is live at https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingAbsentee.html.

Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot:

1. Absent from your county or, if a resident of New York City absent from the five boroughs, on Election Day.
2. Unable to appear at the polls due to temporary or permanent illness or disability (temporary illness includes being unable to appear due to risk of contracting or spreading a communicable disease like COVID-19).
3. Unable to appear because you are the primary care giver of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled.
4. A resident or patient of a Veterans Health Administration Hospital.
5. Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony.

When is it due?

Applications requesting to receive an absentee ballot by mail must be received by the board of elections in your county no later than fifteen days before the election. For absentee ballots to be received in-person, applications must be received by your board no later than the day before the election.

How to Cast an Absentee Ballot

• Once your receive the ballot, mark the ballot according to your choices for each office following the instructions on the ballot
• Once you have completed marking your ballot fold it up and place it in the Security Envelope. (This envelope will have a place for your signature.)
• Sign and date the outside of the Security Envelope.
• Seal the Security Envelope.
• Place the Security Envelope in the Return Envelope. (This envelope will have the return address of your county Board of Elections on the outside and should have a logo that reads, “Official Election Mail”)
• Seal the Return Envelope. 
• You may return the ballot in any of the following ways:
  1. Put it in the mail ensuring it receives a postmark no later than November 3rd.
  2. Bringing it to the County Board of Elections Office no later than November 3rd by 9pm.
  3. Bringing it to an early voting poll site between October 24th and November 1st
  4. Bringing it to a poll site on November 3rd by 9pm.

For more information, go to the Absentee Ballot Portal: https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingAbsentee.html