Protect Your Election Day Rights in the Hudson Valley Tuesday

In order to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to their polling places, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will open a hotline on Election Day where voters can report any problems they have.

Anyone who experiences any problems or irregularities at the polls can call the toll-free hotline at at 800-771-7755 or email civil.rights@ag.ny.gov at any time on Tuesday between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

All registered New Yorkers are eligible to vote, regardless of party affiliation. Voters can check their registration status here. Every poll site in the state will be open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. To find your polling place, click here.

The Attorney General’s Office has operated the hotline since November 2012. During previous years, the office fielded hundreds of complaints from voters across the state and worked with local election officials and others to promptly address issues encountered by voters at the polls.

Did you experience problems at the polls in the Hudson Valley? Long lines? Trouble finding your polling place? Whatever it is, we want to know. Text us your experiences by signing up for the Electionland Project. Just text ELECTIONLAND to 69866 to participate and tell us about your experience voting. We’ll find out what, if anything, went wrong in your district.

Here are some facts to keep in mind before you go to vote:

• Voters can check their registration, polling place and election district online here.
• While New York voters are not required to present identification in most circumstances, if you registered by mail to vote in New York for the first time and did not verify your identity, you may be asked to provide some form of ID, which can include a New York driver’s license, state ID card, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or government document that shows your name and address when you registered.
• If you are registered to vote but your name does not appear in the voter roll in the election district in which you are registered, you are entitled to complete an affidavit or provisional ballot. This ballot will only be counted, however, if you are properly registered in the election district where you cast your affidavit ballot.
• Registered voters with disabilities can vote with the assistance of a person of their choosing (except employers or labor union representatives) or with the help of two election inspectors, each from a different party.
• Under New York law, voters are entitled to up to two hours of paid time off in order to vote if their work schedule otherwise prevents them from voting in person while the polls are open. To exercise this right, you must tell your employer that you need time off to vote not more than 10 but not less than two days before the election. You can get more information about this law here.
• New York law allows domestic violence victims who obtain a court order from NY Supreme Court in the county where they are registered to have their voter registration record kept separate and apart from other registration records and not be made available for inspection or copying by the public. Victims can also be excused from going to obtain a special ballot and avoid going to their polling place to vote.

For any questions regarding voter registration, procedures, polling locations or election regulations, please contact your county board of elections:

• Dutchess County Board of Elections at 845-486-2473.
• Ulster County Board of Elections at 845-334-5470.
• Orange County Board of Elections at 845-360-6500.
• Putnam County Board of Elections at 845-808-1300.
• Rockland County Board of Elections at 845-638-5172.
• Westchester County Board of Elections at 914-995-5700.

Written by Alex Costello (Patch Staff) with additional reporting by Michael Woyton (Patch Staff).

Photo: Patch