As the voter registration deadline approaches on Oct. 26, The Sun prepared a voting guide with all the information needed to vote locally on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Registering to Vote
In New York State, U.S. citizens 18 years of age or older who have been residents of the state for at least 30 days and do not claim the right to vote elsewhere are eligible to vote. Individuals who are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction, ruled “mentally incompetent” by a court or simultaneously claim the right to vote in another state are not eligible.
All full-time Cornell students on the Ithaca campus will have reached the 30-day eligibility mark by Election Day.
States set their own voter eligibility requirements and registration deadlines, which may differ from those in New York. For information on other states’ voter eligibility guidelines, visit your state’s Board of Elections website.
For students who wish to vote in Tompkins County, they can either register to vote online or in person.
To register online, the county website links to the online voter registration application. The application requires voters to use their New York state ID, the last four digits of their social security number and the zip code currently on record at the DMV to input their Ithaca address. After receiving a confirmation email, residents may go to the voter lookup site, and input “Tompkins” for county and personal information to confirm registration and polling location.
For voters who are registering by filling out the New York State Voter Registration form, they should provide a form of identification including their DMV number or social security number. They should submit by mail or in person to the Tompkins County Board of Elections located at 128 E. Buffalo St. in Ithaca by Oct. 26.
Early Voting
New York offers early voting from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3. Anyone who is registered as a Tompkins County voter and wishes to vote early can do so at Ithaca Town Hall at 215 N. Tioga St. or Crash Fire Rescue at 72 Brown Rd. Opening hours for each day of early voting can be found on Tompkins County’s early voting webpage.
Early Mail
Any registered voter can apply for a mail-in ballot. The deadline to request an early mail ballot is at least 10 days before Election Day. Ballots can be requested by a physical form mailed to the Board of Elections or through an online portal. Early mail ballots can also be submitted in person at a polling site in the county. Requests for early mail ballots submitted in person must be received by the day before the election.
Absentee Ballots
Voters are eligible for an absentee ballot if they are unable to physically vote in the county on Election Day for reasons including being absent from the county during Election Day, being unable to go to the polling station because of an illness or serving as the primary caregiver of an ill individual.
The absentee ballot has to be postmarked to the Board of Elections office by Nov. 5, brought to an early voting location by Nov. 3 or brought to the Board of Elections office or polling site by 9 p.m. on Nov. 5.
Voting on Election Day
A list of all polling places in Ithaca is available at the Tompkins County Board of Elections. Robert Purcell Community Center will be the only polling place on campus for this election. New York residents can also check their poll site on the New York Board of Elections website. On the website, users can input their address and find their polling location and a list of all incumbents running for election.
Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and polling locations will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Voters who are in line but have not voted by 9 p.m. will still be allowed to vote so long as they remain in line.
New York workers can take time off on Election Day to vote under Section 3-110 of the New York State Election Law. Anyone with fewer than four consecutive non-working hours may take up to two paid hours off of work and as many unpaid hours as needed, so long as they give at least two-days notice to their employer.
Those who require assistance to vote or need instruction on how to operate the voting machine may ask a poll worker for guidance.
Gabriel Muñoz is a member of the class of 2026 at the College of Arts and Science. He serves as city editor for the 143rd editorial board. He previously served as city editor for the 142nd Editorial Board and news editor for the 141st Editorial Board. He can be contacted at gmunoz@cornellsun.com.
