COVID-19 Absentee Voting
Protect your health, and the health of our democracy with expanded access to vote-by-mail in the upcoming election.
All New Yorkers can vote by mail in the June 23, 2020 election, per an Executive Order from Governor Cuomo, by requesting an absentee ballot. Voters may request an absentee ballot online (www.nycabsentee.com) or by using one of the forms below; your ballot will then be mailed to you at the address you include on your request. The Board of Elections will also mail an absentee ballot application to every eligible voter, with return postage paid. Voters may complete and return the application to receive their ballot. You only need to complete the application once, whether in print or online.
We encourage you to vote by mail, if you can, to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure that in-person voting is available to those who truly need it.
Print-at-Home Absentee Ballot Request Forms:
English | বাংলা | 繁體中文 | 국국어 | Español
The BOE will mail you a ballot, which you will need to fill out and mail to your local BOE office no later than the day before the election; the BOE must receive it no later than seven days after the election.
You can also hand deliver your absentee ballot application to the BOE office in your borough (no later than the day before the election) and receive your absentee ballot immediately.
In-person absentee voting begins as soon as the ballots are available (at least 32 days before an election) and ends on Election Day. You may vote absentee at the BOE office in your borough Monday through Friday and on the weekend prior to Election Day, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on Election Day.
If the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot by mail has passed and you cannot appear at your poll site on Election Day because of an accident or sudden illness, you may send a representative to your borough office with a written letter of authorization to receive an absentee ballot on your behalf. A completed application and your completed ballot must be returned to the BOE office in your borough by 9:00 p.m. on Election Day.
What should you put as your reason for request?
Your request should indicate “temporary illness” as the reason (the definition of which has been expanded to cover the risk of contracting the coronavirus). Submit your completed absentee ballot request to your borough’s Board of Elections by June 16.
You can also vote by absentee ballot if you are a registered voter and cannot make it to your polling site on Election Day because of your:
occupation,
business,
studies,
travel,
imprisonment (other than a convicted felon), or
illness, disability, hospitalization or residence in a long-term care facility.
If you are permanently ill or disabled and cannot get to your poll site, you can vote by absentee ballot on a permanent basis by getting on the New York City Board of Elections permanent absentee ballot list. Check the box marked “permanent illness or physical disability” of the absentee ballot application, and the BOE will automatically send you an absentee ballot application for each election for which you qualify to vote.