REGISTER TO VOTE

Qualifications

To register to vote in the City of New York, you must:

1. Be a citizen of the United States (Includes those persons born in Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
2. Be a New York City resident for at least 30 days.
3. Be 18 years of age before the next election.
4. Not be serving a jail sentence or be on parole for a felony conviction
5. Not be judged mentally incompetent by a court.
6. Not claim the right to vote outside the City of New York.

Although you can register any time during the year, your form must be delivered or mailed at least 25 days before the next election for it to be effective for that election.

How To Register

1. Download A Voter Registration Form from the New York City Board of Elections.

• English
• Spanish--(Español)
• Chinese--(汉语)
• Korean--(한국어)

Important Instructions:

Fill out a Voter Registration Application using only a pen with blue or black ink.

Form must be signed.

Form must be Mailed (NOT FAXED) to:

Board of Elections in the City of New York
32 Broadway, 7 Fl
New York, NY 10004-1609

You will need the Adobe (TM) Acrobat Reader to view and print the documents. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you may download the program from:

2. Register In Person at:

Diane Haslett-Rudiano - Chief Clerk
Mary Rose Sattie - Deputy Chief Clerk
210 Joralemon Street, 4 Fl
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: 1.718.797.8800

3. Call NYC Board of Elections Phone Bank

The Board of Elections operates an attended Phone Bank supporting up to 80 simultaneous users during office hours (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) with a multi-lingual staff of English, Chinese Mandarin/Cantonese, Korean and Spanish speaking operators.

Toll Free: 1.866.VOTE-NYC (1.866.868.3692)
Outside of New York City: 1.212.VOTE-NYC
TDD: 1.212.487.5496

Party Affiliation

The registration form contains a section where you can indicate your choice for party affiliation. If you would like to register without designating a party, simply mark the space indicating "I do not wish to enroll in a party."

The following parties are recognized in New York State:
• Republican
• Democratic
• Independence
• Conservative
• Working Families

The Primary System

In a Primary Election, only voters registered with one of the parties qualified to hold a primary in New York City may vote to nominate their party's candidate to run in the general election.

Candidates nominated by the parties for each office then appear on the general election ballot, along with any independent candidates who gain access to the general ballot without running in the party primaries.

Voting in Primary Elections Because a primary is strictly a party election, only voters registered with one of the parties conducting a primary may participate in that party's election. Voters registered without party affiliation may vote only in General and Special Elections.

Changing Party Affiliation

You can change your party affiliation by obtaining a Voter Registration Form, indicating the change and sending it to the Board of Elections. Your form will be processed and you will receive a new voter card reflecting the new party.

You cannot CHANGE your enrollment and vote in the NEW PARTY of your choice in the same year.

Please Note: a change of enrollment will go into affect one week following the General Election. The last day to change your enrollment is the same as the last day to register for the General Election (25 days prior to the date of the General Election).

Keeping Your Registration Current

The Law Says Your residence address determines the where you are eligible to vote. New York State law requires voters to notify the Board of Elections within 25 days of an address change to preserve their voting rights.

To Make Changes to Your Registration You must notify the Board of Elections, in writing, to make any change to your registration (change of address or name). You may also use the Voter’s Registration form.

Controls for Keeping a Registration Current

The Board has developed two programs:
1. The Board of Elections compares its file of registered voters to a file received from the United States Postal Service (USPS) of people who have submitted a change of address. For voters that match, the Board of Elections sends a confirmation notice to indeed verify if the voter has moved.

2. Reports received by city/state agencies (Mental Health, Corrections, Health Dept., Motor Vehicles, etc.) as mechanisms for keeping the voter registry current.

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Endorsements

Hon. Betsy Gotbaum
NY Public Advocate

Hon. C. Virginia Fields
Manhattan Borough Pres.

Hon. Anthony Weiner
U.S. Congress

Hon. Donna Christian-Christensen
U.S. Representative for US Virgin Islands

Hon. Bill de Blasio
Councilmember, 39th CD

Hon. Kendall Stewart
Councilmember, 45th CD

Hon. Melissa Mark-Viverito
Councilmember, 8th CD

Hon. Annabel Palma
Councilmember, 18th CD

Hon. Rosie Mendez
Councilmember, 2nd CD

Hon. Helen Sears
Councilmember, 25th CD

Hon. John Liu
Councilmember, 20th CD

Hon. Melinda Katz
Councilmember, 29th CD

Hon. Helen Foster
Councilmember, 16th CD

Hon. Darlene Mealy
Councilmember, 41st CD

Hon. Alan Gerson
Councilmember, 1st CD

Hon. Miguel Martinez
Councilmember, 10th CD

Hon. James Sanders, Jr.
Councilmember, 31st CD

Hon. Phil Reed

Hon. Mayor Wayne Hall
Mayor Hempstead, LI

Hon. Nick Perry
Assemblymember, 58th AD

Hon. John Sampson
NY State Senator, 19th

Alan Fleishman
District Leader, 52nd AD

Rev. Dr. Paul Smith

Roberta Flack

Emily's List

Women Building for the Future PAC

National Women's Political Caucus

Women's Campaign Forum

Jim Owles Democratic Club

Stonewall Democratic Club

Caribbean American Leadership Summit

100 Clergy for Clarke

Progressive Democrat Political Association

Guyanese-American Workers United

Men and Women Against Domestic Violence

1199/SEIU

32BJ

District Council 9, Painters

Local 420, Hospital Wkrs, DC37 AFSCME

Mason Tenders District Council, LIUNA

United Food and Commerical Workers (UFCW), Local 1500

International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Joint Council 16

UNITE / HERE!

Hotel Trades Council (NYC)

HERE, Local 6 (Hotel Workers)

Carpenters, Local 926 (Brooklyn)