Interesting Links
Voting for Change
Election Day
November 4th, 2008
Where do I Vote?
If you did not receive a yellow postcard in the mail with the address
of your polling place:
- call the Board of Elections at 1-866-VOTE NYC or
e-mail them at vote@boe.nyc.ny.us with your complete address. You should
receive an e-mail back instructing you where to vote.
- NYC Poll Locator
Enter your street address to find your assigned polling place
- call 1-800-OUR-VOTE
if you cannot get through to the Board of Elections
- call the NYPIRG
and Common Cause Voter Help Line: 1-212-822-0282
Polls open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 9:00 p.m. You have the right to
vote if you are in line or in your polling place when the polls close.
Those who wish to file absentee ballots have two delivery options.
- By
mail: an absentee ballot must be postmarked by November 3 and must
reach the Board of Elections no more than seven days after the election.
- Or
in person: absentee ballots can be delivered in person at one of the
Board of Elections borough offices by 9:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Will I Need to Bring I.D.?
New Yorkers who registered to vote for the first time via mail after
January 1, 2003, will be asked to provide identification, such as a driver's
license, when they go to the polls.
Those without a driver's license can also offer a copy of one of the
following:
- a valid photo ID
- a current utility bill
- a bank statement
- a government check or other government document that
shows the voter's name and address.
Those who don't have any form of identification or refuse to supply
one will be allowed to vote on paper ballot, not in the machines, according
to the Board of Elections. Those votes will be counted if they are verified
to match registration forms.
What Are My Voting Rights?
The New York Voter's Bill of Rights guarantees the right to:
- Vote: The
right to vote includes voting for candidates and questions on the ballot.
- Have
Your Vote Count: Vote on a voting system that is in working condition
and that will allow votes to be accurately counted.
- Secrecy in Voting:
Secrecy in voting will be preserved for all elections.
- Freedom in Voting:
Cast your vote, free from coercion or intimidation by poll workers
or any other person.
- Permanent Registration: Once registered to vote,
you will continue to remain qualified to vote from an address within
your county or city.
- Accessible Elections: Non-discriminatory equal
access to the election system for all voters, including the elderly,
disabled, alternative language minorities, military and overseas citizens,
as required by federal and state laws.
- Assistance in Voting: You may
ask for help in voting because of blindness, disability, or inability
to read or write.
- Instructions in Voting: You can view a sample ballot
in this polling place prior to voting, and before entering the machine,
you may request help in how to operate the machine.
- Absentee Voting:
If you will be out of your county of residence on Election Day, or
are unable to go to your polling place due to illness or physical disability,
you may cast an absentee ballot.
- Affidavit Voting: Whenever your name
does not appear in the official poll book, you will be offered an affidavit
ballot.
What if I Encounter Problems at the Polls?
If a poll worker says you are not on the list, ask an inspector to verify
that you are at the correct Election and Assembly District for your address.
If you believe that you are eligible to vote, you can ask for a paper
ballot. After the election, the Board of Elections will check its records
and your vote will be counted if you are deemed eligible to vote and
were at the correct polling site.
The Board of Elections claims 99% of polling places are barrier free
and are accessible for senior citizens and handicapped voters. If your
polling site is inaccessible call the Voter Registration Unit of your
local borough office (numbers listed above right).
See the New York Civil Liberties Union voting guide for more info.
If you encounter problems at the polls, call one of the following numbers:
- U.S. Department of Justice: 1-800-253-3931
- ACLU Voting Rights Project:
1-877-523-2792
- New York Civil Liberties Union: 1-212-344-3005
- New York Public Interest
Research Group: 1-212-349-6460
- Common Cause: 1-212-691-6421
- For assistance in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog,
Hindi, Khmer and English, call the Asian American Legal Defense Fund
at 1-800-966-5946.
- For assistance in Spanish or English, call the Puerto
Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
Sources
BOOKS
The First Campaign: Globalization, the Web, and the Race for the White
House
Garrett M. Graff
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007
324.973 G
Gaming the Vote: Why Elections Aren't Fair (And What We Can Do About
It)
William Poundstone
Hill and Wang, 2008
324.973 P
Meet the Next President: Everything You Need to Know About the White
House Candidates
Bill Sammon
Simon & Schuster, 2007
324.973 S
ONLINE
- NYC Board of Elections
- NYC Voter Assistance Commission
- NYC
Poll Locator: Enter your street address to find your assigned
polling place
- Presidential
Primary Voters’ Guide: Candidates’ concise
responses to five major policy issues, from the League of Women Voters
- Project
Vote-Smart: Find voting records, biographical information,
issue positions, interest group ratings, public statements, and campaign
finance information on both candidates and elected officials
- Federal Election Commission: Campaign
finance reports and data
- Center for
Responsive Politics: Look up political contributions by
industry, politician’s name, state, zip code, and other options.
- Elections
2008 comprehensive set of links from University of Michigan
Library Documents Center
- 2008
Technology Voters’ Guide: From CNET News.com, “campaign
coverage for the digerati” on issues such as universal broadband,
net neutrality, sales tax, and social-networking safety
