Frequenty Asked Questions

You can obtain a mail registration form by calling your County Board of Elections at (518) 565-4740, or by calling 1-800-FOR-VOTE.  Registration forms are also available at most government offices, post offices, libraries, and on-line.  You must complete the form and mail it to your County Board of Elections.  You may also register in person at your County Board of Elections.

You need to re-register to vote if:

  • You move into the county;
  • Changed your name;
  • Changed your address; or
  • Changed your party enrollment.

 (Any change in party enrollment will become effective seven (7) days after the following General Election)

If you move out of Clinton County and register to vote in a new county, your new county will notify Clinton County of your change.

Optional:

You will be able to register to donate your organs and tissues by filling out the form attached to the new registration forms.  These forms will be forwarded to the NYS Department of Health “Donate Life” Registry.

 

Your Identity is verified through DMV, or the last four digits of your social security number, which you will provide on the registration form.  If we cannot verify your identity before Election Day, you will be asked for ID when you vote for the first time.
 

You must be enrolled in one of the recognized parties (i.e., Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Working Families), and there must be a primary election in the party in which you are enrolled.
 

You use the same form as you do for registering to vote, in Section 13 of the registration form.  NOTE: Any change in party enrollment will become effective seven (7) days after the following General Election.
 

Each year, 65 to 75 days before the General Election, you should receive a postcard from the Board of Elections verifying your current address.  This card also indicates the location of your polling place.  All Polling places are handicapped accessible.

Inspectors at the assigned polling site will give the voter a preprinted ballot containing all candidates and contests.  The voter then hand-marks the paper ballot with a special marking pen.  This is done in the privacy of a voting booth.  The voter then deposits the ballot into the scanner to record the vote and secure the ballot in a locked ballot box within the ImageCast voting machine.

Paper ballot voting allows the voter to clearly review the ballot after filling in the voting ovals and be confident their vote is accurately recorded and preserved.

 

Yes.  Although your Inspectors are happy to demonstrate how to complete a ballot, some voters may need or want assistance in marking their ballot.  The ImageCast with the Ballot Marking Device (BMD) has additional features that can assist any voter with this process.  Once you tell the Inspector that you wish to use the BMD, an Accessible Voting Session will be created for you.  If a voter requests assistance from inspectors, one from each of the two parties represented will help.
 

  • Make sure to mark every contest by completely filing in the oval above the name of the candidate or issue of your choice.
  • Do not use an “X” or check mark or other notation.
  • Make sure that there are no stray marks or doodles on the ballot.
  • If you make a mistake or damage the ballot, return it to the Inspector for a replacement.  Be aware that you have a limited number of replacement ballots.

Note:  If you write in the name of a candidate already appearing on the ballot, your vote for that person WILL NOT be counted.

 

When you are finished marking your ballot, place it in the provided privacy sleeve and take it to the ImageCast scanner to be scanned.

  • Place the privacy sleeve into the scanner slot.
  • The system automatically draws the ballot from the privacy sleeve into the unit and performs a review of the ballot.

If any ballot error is detected, you will be notified with a message and the Inspector will explain the options.

An over voted ballot warning occurs when the scanner detects that you have selected more than the allowed number of candidates or ballot proposals for the contests indicated.  You may cast the ballot with the over-vote, or return the ballot to an election inspector and receive a new ballot.

Your ballot is then counted and stored in a secure container with the locked ballot box.

It is important that you wait until your ballot has been accepted and you receive the confirming message. Congratulations! Your vote has now been successfully cast.

 

With the new voting machines, a picture of each ballot that is cast is captured by a Scandisk memory Card which is sealed with a tamper-proof seal.  Each ImageCast scanner has two memory cards; one is taken to the Board of Elections the night of the election by the Election Coordinator for counting the votes from each election district.  There are no makings or any indication on your ballot to indicate the identity of any voter.  The use of the privacy sleeve is provided for your assurance that your vote is private and secret.

You will notice that the inspectors write a number for each ballot issued, this is to account for all ballots in order to keep an exact record of the number of votes cast and verifies the numbers on the two Scandisk in the ImageCast machine.

 

You can request an Absentee Ballot for the following reasons:

  • If you will be absent from the county due to your occupation, business, vacation or studies at the time of an election you are qualified to vote in;
  • If you are temporarily unable to vote in person due to illness or physical disability; at the time of an election you are qualified to vote in;
  • If you are permanently ill or disabled;
  • If you are a caretaker of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled.

You can call, write, apply in person and request an application for an absentee ballot from the Board of Elections.  You may also down-load the application on-line. You must request or apply at least seven days before the election. If you are applying in person you may do so up to, and including, the day BEFORE the election. You can request an absentee ballot for each primary, special and general election you qualify as a voter and have checked the boxes at the top of the application.

If you are permanently ill or disabled you may request a permanent absentee ballot on the application for all future election you are qualified as a voter, including, every primary, special and general election.You must request or apply at least seven days before the election. If you are applying in person you may do so up to, and including, the day BEFORE the election. Should you become disabled within ten days of the election you may submit the application up to and including the day before the election.