Confused about voting? Your options for Election Day 2020
NEW YORK - The coronavirus pandemic has left many people confused about voting this year, and wondering what they are and are not allowed to do on Election Day 2020.
Lesley Sigall, the co-President of the League of Women Voters New York City says, “Make your plan. Figure out how you're going to vote.”
A record number of voters are expected to use mail-in or absentee ballots, this year, but you need to request an absentee ballot before Oct. 27. Because of COVID-19, all New Yorkers are eligible for a mail-in ballot this year. If you request and receive one, however, you are not locked into using the mail-in ballot.
"You can request an absentee ballot and then just ignore it and go and vote early or on Election Day," Sigall said.
If you decide to use your mail-in ballot in New York, once you fill it out you have four options. You can mail and postmark it by Nov. 3. You can drop it off at any early voting location between Oct. 24 and Nov. 1.
You can also drop it off at a county Board of Elections office between now and Election Day or drop it off at a polling location on Election Day, Nov. 3.
If you mail in your absentee ballot and then decide you want to vote in person, you can also do that.
"They don't start counting absentee ballots until seven days after the election,” Sigall said. “If they see that you voted in person, they will nullify your absentee ballot and you will only have voted once.”
If you're voting in person at a polling site, early voting begins Oct. 24 and ends Nov. 1. However, those polling sites have not been announced yet. Your county board of elections will be posting the early voting locations on their websites.