Early Voting ASL Video
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Early Voting Mail In Ballots:
Due to legislation in 2023, starting this year, 2024, voters will be able to request an Early Mail Ballot. This new option allows any registered voter to request an Early Mail Ballot. This application can be personally delivered to your county board of elections until the day before the election or by mail until 10 days before the election.
Early Mail Ballots can be used by anyone that wants to vote by mail.
Request A Ballot | New York State Board of Elections (ny.gov)
Early Mail Ballot Application - English
Solicitud de boleta anticipada por correo - Español
The November General Election in 2019 provided the first Early Voting opportunity in New York State. Early Voting continues to be available to all registered voters in Monroe County. Each year voting patterns are evaluated by the Election Commissioners and adjustments made in locations and hours to further accommodate Monroe Coutny voters.
One of the benefits of Early Voting is that voters no longer have to wait until Election Day and vote at their assigned polling location. During Early Voting days and times, a voter may choose to cast their ballot at any of the thirteen Early Voting sites in Monroe County that is most convenient for them. Each site is flexible enough to accommodate larger or smaller numbers of voters as needed during the nine-day period of Early Voting.
Voting during Early Voting is the same as voting on Election Day. When you get to the Early Voting site, you will check in to vote using an electronic poll pad, receive your ballot printed with the candidates representing your districts and cast your ballot on an electronic voting machine as in any other election. Each Early Voting location will have instructions available to familiarize you with the ballot, a Notice to Voter document and Bill of Rights. Poll workers are available at all sites to provide voters with further explanation or assistance.
Use of Electronic Poll Books (E-Poll Books) will continue. E-Poll Books make certain voters only vote once and are not able to go to another polling site and cast a ballot or go to a district site on Election Day and attempt to cast a ballot. The E-Poll Books communicate via a secure network connection and only transmit non-personal information to update files. Based on where a voter lives, the E-Poll Books make certain voters are given the correct ballot for the district they reside in and registered from. Voters complete and scan their ballots utilizing the scanners used on Election Day. Ballot marking devices are available at all sites for voters who require assistance marking their ballot, along with well-trained staff.
The Legislation passed to implement Early Voting and provide for the use of E-Poll Books has several voter protections attached to it. The New York State Board of Election's detailed regulations build on those protections to make certain that New York’s elections remain secure and ensure that every vote is counted.
None of the votes cast at an Early Voting center are counted until the night of the election. Early voting results will be canvassed and reported after 9pm with the Election Day results. Standards for protecting ballots and memory cards are extensive. A daily audit of each Early Voting center was required to establish and ensure that records of both blank and cast ballots matched the number of voters that used a center daily.
Affidavits (provisional ballots) available on Election Day are also available at Early Voting centers to make sure everyone can complete a ballot even if for some reason they were not in our files. Early Voting centers function much like a normal polling site on Election Day but with more staff and heightened expertise.
Due to a recent change in law, New York State voters are no longer permitted to cast a ballot on a voting machine if they have already requested an absentee ballot for that election. Voters who have already requested an absentee ballot can still vote in person using an affidavit ballot. The affidavit ballot will be kept separate until the election is completed. Election officials will verify whether the voter's absentee ballot has been received. If the voter's absentee ballot has been received, the affidavit ballot will not be counted. If the voter's absentee ballot has not been received, the affidavit ballot will be counted.
We continue to strive to provide for a better voter experience and greater turnout, giving voters more options of when and where they can vote.
(Reminder - If you vote during the Early Voting period, you are NOT eligible to vote again on Election Day.)
