NY Primary Elections

The Presidential Primary and Special Elections that were scheduled for April 28, have been rescheduled to June 23, because of the coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing.  

June 23rd is also the primary date for all New York seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and all seats in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate.

Also, last week, Governor Cuomo announced that all New Yorkers will be allowed to vote using an absentee ballot in the June 23 Democratic primary.  This is an effort to maintain social distancing throughout the state. 

“I don’t think it’s wise to be bringing a lot of people to one location to vote, a lot of people touching one doorknob, a lot of people touching one pen,”  Gov. Cuomo said in his news conference. “So we are going to delay that and link it to an election that was previously scheduled on June 23.”

Absentee Voting

All New York City residents who want to vote absentee for the primary can download an application at vote.nyc.

Applications can also be obtained in a Board of Elections office or by calling 1-866-VOTE-NYC (1-866-868-3692). 

When requesting your absentee ballot, make sure to indicate "temporary illness" and return your absentee request form to the Board of Elections by mail by June 16, 2020 (postmarked). Local Board of Election addresses are listed on the second page of the request form.

This executive order also asks the Board of Elections to accept applications electronically, however, as of today, the BOE does not have a system in place to accept such admissions. 

After filling out the application in blue or black ink, they can be dropped off at or mailed to your borough’s BOE office. 

All applications sent by mail must be postmarked no later than the seventh day before the election, and all dropped off applications must be handed in no later than one day before the election. The absentee ballot will be sent to you at least 32 days before the election. If you applied after that date, the ballot will be sent as soon as your application is processed.

Once you have your absentee ballot and have filled in your votes, there are two ways to had it in: by mail or in-person. To submit the vote by mail, fold the ballot and place it inside a smaller envelope. Sign and date the envelope, and then place that sealed envelope into a larger envelope that is addressed to your local BOE office. All mailed ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election and must reach the BOE office no more than 7 days after the election to be counted.

Absentee ballots can be cast by mail  to the Board of Elections office.

For more information, or to download an application visit vote.nyc.  Click here to find your BOE office.

Early voting period: Saturday, April 18 to Sunday, April 26.

June 23:

Primary for all New York seats in the U.S. House of Representatives

Primary for all seats in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate