Voting in NYC: What You Need to Know

Sat, Jun 14: Deadline to register to vote. Note: In New York State, only voters registered with a party may vote to nominate that party's candidate in a Primary Election.

Sat, Jun 14–Sun, Jun 22: Early Voting

Tues, Jun 24: Primary Election Day!

 

Find Information in Your Language

Explore the NYC Votes website for voter information and resources in the following languages (located in the top right corner of the site): عربي • বাংলা • 简化字 • 正體字 • français • Kreyòl ayisyen • हिंदी • 한국어 • Polski • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ • Pусский • español • اردو 

The New York State Board of Elections has information available in the following languages: español • 中文 • Pусский • יידיש • বাংলা • 한국인 • Kreyòl ayisyen • Italiano • عربي • Polski • français • اردو 

Start by checking out the New York State Voter's Bill of Rights from the Board of Elections in the City of New York.

NYC Votes has some useful information regarding your voting rights while registering to vote, at the poll site, and at work. Whether or not you're voting for the first time, know that you have the right to:

• Ask a poll worker for help.
• Use an interpreter if you need language assistance.
• Bring any voting materials with you.
• Vote even if the voting machine is broken.
• Vote by affidavit ballot if your name is missing from the list of voters at your polling site.
• Not show an ID if you are not a first-time voter.
• Take two paid hours off from work at the beginning or end of your shift if polls are open for less than 4 hours before your shift starts and after it ends.
   

More About Voter Rights and Voting Accessibility

• If you have a disability or limited English language proficiency, learn about poll site and ballot accessibility from NYC Votes.
   
• If you want to access ballots and voting materials in languages other than English, by law New York City ballots and other voting materials are translated into Bengali, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish at certain poll sites based on local census data. Interpreters are available at some poll sites to provide assistance in these languages and others, such as Arabic, Haitian Creole, Russian, and Yiddish. Additionally, the VoteNYC website has a pull-down menu (look for it in the upper right corner) to translate the site’s text into Spanish, Bengali, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, or Korean.
   
• If you were formerly incarcerated, learn about your voting rights from NYPL Connections: A Free Guide for Formerly Incarcerated People (see pages 205–210). 
   
• If you are unhoused, learn more about your voting rights from the League of Women Voters of New York.
   

What to Do If You Encounter a Problem at the Polls

You can call the NYC Board of Elections about any issues at your poll site. Call 1-866-VOTE-NYC (1-866-868-3692). 

You can also report an election day issue to the National Partnership for New Americans’ Voter Protection Hotlines:

• English: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)
• Spanish/English: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682)
• Arabic/English: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287)
• AAPI Languages/English: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683)
   

Learn More! Check out this list of books about democracy and voting rights.

Learn more about your representatives at the websites for the following offices:

Federal | The White House • U.S. Senate • U.S. House of Representatives

State | NY State Governor • NY State Attorney General • New York State Comptroller • New York State Senate • New York State Assembly

NYC | New York City Mayor • New York City Public Advocate • New York City Comptroller • New York City Council

NYC Boroughs | Bronx Borough President • Bronx District Attorney • Brooklyn Borough President • Brooklyn District Attorney • Manhattan Borough President • Manhattan District Attorney • Queens Borough President • Queens District Attorney • Staten Island Borough President • Staten Island District Attorney

Vote411 | This online voters' guide from the League of Women Voters allows you to type in your address to see the races on your ballot. Candidates' positions can be compared side-by-side, and you may print out your preferences as a reminder and take it with you to the polls on Election Day.

Plural | Formerly Open States, Plural allows you to search and track legislation and legislators. In their words, "Plural exists to make policy creation more transparent, responsive, and inclusive. And to make full participation possible."

Internet Archive TV News | The Internet Archive launched TV News Search and Borrow in 2012 "to enhance the capabilities of journalists, scholars, teachers, librarians, civic organizations, and other engaged citizens" by repurposing closed captioning "to enable users to search, quote and borrow U.S. TV news programs." It contains clips dating from 2009 to the present from over 2 million recorded programs that can be searched by keyword.

Vote Smart | This free online tool provides factual, unbiased information on candidates and elected officials including how they've voted, which bills they've sponsored, statements they've released, and more.

Ballotpedia | Ballotpedia allows you to see the races on your ballot and read about the candidates’ positions. It provides information about federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy. 

Newspapers & Magazines

A wide selection of current newspapers and magazines are available to read in the Library's 92 locations. Find a location near you.

PressReader | Read over 2,000 U.S. and international newspapers in full-color, full-page format using PressReader. You will need to sign in using your library card credentials. Download the PressReader app for iOS or Android for use on a mobile device.

Flipster | Use your library card to access digital magazines from publishers including National Geographic, Condé Nast, Meredith, Bloomberg L.P., and more. Download the Flipster app for iOS or Android for use on a mobile device.

Explore more newspapers and magazines in NYPL's databases.

 

More Online Resources

Office of the New York State Attorney General | Find out what you can do to protect yourself and others against AI-generated misinformation including deepfakes in this note from the New York State Attorney General.

Factcheck.org | A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Factcheck.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocate for voters that aims "to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics." The site monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.

Public Agenda | This "national research-to-action organization" aims to help communities and the nation solve tough problems through research, engagement, and communication.

Opposing Viewpoints | Access the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center using your library card for material to support differing views. Students can develop critical thinking skills on thousands of current social topics in the forms of primary source documents, statistics, websites, and multimedia.

 

Resources About Campaign Finance

Federal Election Commission | The Federal Election Commission is an independent government agency created by Congress in 1974 "to promote confidence and participation in the democratic process." Its purpose is to administer and enforce federal campaign finance law. You can search presidential data including money raised, money spent, cash on hand, and debt, as well as research legal resources and find help for candidates and committees active in federal elections.

OpenSecrets | A nonpartisan, independent nonprofit, OpenSecrets tracks "money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy" with a mission "to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis to strengthen democracy."

NYOpenGovernment.com | This website from the New York State Attorney General’s office aggregates data on campaign contributions and expenditures, lobbyist disclosures, government contracts, and registered charities from other New York State agencies to provide transparency and accountability.