By Melanie Marich and Allison Dikanovic

This article is adapted from a previous version published by THE CITY in 2021.

Primary Day is two weeks away, on June 25. And early voting starts this weekend, on  Saturday, June 15.

The start of early voting is also the last day you can register to vote in the primary. But remember: You have to be registered with a political party to vote in a New York primary — more on that below.

To ensure that as many New Yorkers as possible participate in choosing our leaders, here’s a breakdown of who has the right to vote in New York in 2024, how to register and how to help someone register to vote.

Who has the right to vote in New York?

To be able to cast a ballot in New York, you need to be a U.S. citizen who has lived in the city or state for at least 30 days, is not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and is at least 18 years old.

If you turn 18 on or before June 25, you’ll be able to vote, so make sure you register now. And remember, all 16 and 17 year olds can pre-register to vote, which means you automatically become a registered voter the day you turn 18.

Can I vote if I am an immigrant?

If you have become a naturalized U.S. citizen since moving here, you can vote.

Otherwise, the ballot box is off limits, despite recent attempts to change that in the city. A 2022 law passed by the New York City Council would have granted certain non-citizens the right to vote in local elections, but was declared unconstitutional by a state appeals court in February.

What if I’ve been convicted of a felony?

As of May 2021, all New Yorkers who were previously incarcerated have their rights to vote automatically restored as soon as they’re released from prison. That includes everyone still on parole or probation, even those convicted of a felony.

Though your voting rights come back automatically, your registration does not — you have to do that yourself. After you have served your maximum sentence, you must re-register to vote, even if you were previously registered. Only those currently serving a prison sentence cannot vote.

What if I’ve moved? Do I need to re-register?

If you’ve moved from out of state, you need to re-register. But if you’ve moved from elsewhere in New York State to the five boroughs, you just need to file a change of address form with the city Board of Elections, or your local post office or the DMV so you can vote in your current district. You can do that here.

Am I registered to vote?

If you’re not sure, it’s worth double checking. You can check online at the city Board of Elections website or the New York State Board of Elections portal. Both have information about voters in New York City. You can also get the information by calling the city Board of Elections at 1-866-868-3692.

Once you’re registered to vote, you are permanently registered unless:

• You moved outside the city or county in which you were registered
• You are an inactive voter who hasn’t voted in any election, including two consecutive federal elections and you haven’t confirmed your address during that period
• You are currently serving a felony sentence
• You are found to be mentally incompetent by a court

How do I register to vote?

You have a few options:

First, if you have a New York driver’s license or state ID from the Department of Motor Vehicles, you can register online using this tool from NYC Votes and TurboVote.

If you don’t have a state ID, or if you just prefer a physical form, the law requires that you sign a form and mail it to the city Board of Elections. Without a state ID, you will need to provide the last four digits of your Social Security number.

You can use this site to have the forms mailed to you, or you can download and print the forms yourself to fill out and send in by mail. If you request to have the forms sent to you, they come with a pre-addressed envelope to return them.

You will be asked to plug in your name as it appears on your state ID. If you don’t have one, that’s OK. Just putting how your name appears on official documents will suffice.

After you fill them out, mail them to the BOE’s main office:

Board of Elections 

32 Broadway, 7 Fl 

New York, NY 10004-1609

Make sure your envelope is postmarked by June 15.

How can I help my neighbor vote?

If you need voting access in a language other than English, or you want to help someone register to vote in another language, you can download the registration forms and FAQs in 15 languages here from NYC Votes, a project of the city’s Campaign Finance Board. (Scroll down to the section “Translated Voter Registration Forms.”)

You can also request voter registration forms in various languages by calling 866-VOTENYC.

Lastly, you can pick up voter registration forms at any library branch, any post office or any city agency office.

To vote in the June 25 election, you have to register with a party

If you want to vote in the primary election this month, you need to register with a party. This is because New York has what’s called a closed primary.

For example, to vote for your district’s Democratic Party’s choice for the state Assembly, you need to be registered as a Democrat. If you’re not affiliated with a party or you’re registered as an independent, you can’t vote in the primaries.

According to New York State’s Campaign Finance Board, there were nearly 5 million registered voters in New York City as of February. Of those, about 3.4 million are registered Democrats and eligible to vote in the Democratic primaries. Just over 500,000 are registered as Republicans in the city. About a million voters are either registered with a third party or have no party affiliation, so they can’t vote in the primary. If you want to vote on June 25, check your party.

The deadline to switch parties was Feb. 14, so it’s too late to change your affiliation before the primary.

Can I vote by mail?

Yes! As of January, all registered New York voters can obtain early mail voting ballots. To receive an early mail voting ballot, you can apply any of the following ways:

• Using the online Ballot Request Application portal: RequestBallot.vote.nyc
• If you have a print disability — which means any disability that interferes with the effective reading, writing or use of printed materials — and require a ballot with accessible features, you may apply online using the Accessible Ballot Application.
  • Print disabilities include blindness, low vision, dyslexia, dysgraphia, learning disabilities and physical disabilities that limit writing abilities. Voters using the accessible absentee ballot system are responsible for printing their ballot.
• By going in-person to your borough’s board of elections office.
• By designating another person to deliver your application in-person to your local borough board of elections office to receive your ballot. To find your local board of elections site, click here.

To track your ballot request, enter your confirmation code or your voter information here after you submitted an application. 

Applications requesting an early mail ballot for the June 25 primaries must be received no later than June 15.

Don’t miss the registration deadline!

Once again, you have to register to vote by Saturday, June 15. New York does not have same-day registration, meaning you can’t register to vote and then cast a ballot on the same day. If you aren’t already registered and you don’t apply online or send in your forms postmarked by the deadline, you will not be able to vote in the June 25 primary.

Who’s running?

For the June 25 primaries, there are three main offices on the ballot to focus on: Congress, State Assembly, and State Senate. (Some other positions like district leader and judicial delegate may appear too; read our previous reporting on what those are here.)

THE CITY highlighted eight state-level races to watch in the boroughs.

To see which of these offices will appear on your ballot, get a sample ballot from the Board of Elections with this address look-up tool. Click on the link in the previous sentence, then type in your address where you are registered to vote, then on the next page click on the box on the top right that says “View Sample Ballot.” If there are no contested races in your district, that sample ballot box may not appear.

What are your election questions?

If you have any questions about the election process, the candidates or any other information when it comes to voting in New York, let us know by replying to this email or sending a note to ask@thecity.nyc.

This story was published by THE CITY on June 10, 2024.

  elections 2024, New York, primaries, vote