Polling places are located throughout the county.
You can vote ONLY at your designated polling place.

For a general election, polling places open 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM
For a primary election, polling places open from 12:00 PM TO 9:00 PM

Download a list of all polling sites in the county
or use our Poll Site Locator.

QUALIFICATIONS
To register to vote in Steuben County, you must:

• Be a citizen of the United States (Includes those persons born in Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
• Be a Steuben County resident for at least 30 days.
• Be 18 years of age before the next election.
• Not be serving a jail sentence or be on parole for a felony conviction.
• Not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court.
• Not claim the right to vote elsewhere

Although you can register any time during the year, your registration 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

Register In Person - Visit our office

-- OR --

Register By Mail

• A Voter Registration Form may be obtained in the following ways:
  • Download the Voter Registration Application
  • Call our office and we'll send you a registration form in the mail.
  • You may also obtain Registration Forms from libraries, Post Offices, and most New York Government agencies.
    
• Fill out a Voter Registration Application using only a pen with blue or black ink
• Be sure to sign the form.
• Mail (DO NOT FAX) the Voter Registration Form to:  
  Steuben County Board of Elections
  3 East Pulteney Square
  Bath, NY 14810

Party Affiliation in New York State
The application 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

Party Affiliation and the Primary System
In a Primary Election, only voters registered with one of the parties qualified to hold a primary 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.

To Change Your 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. We will process the information and send you a new voter card reflecting the change in party. You cannot CHANGE your enrollment and vote in the NEW PARTY of your choice in the same year. Please Note: a change of party enrollment will go into effect 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

What the Law Says
Your residence address determines the particular contests in which you are eligible to vote. Because of the role that one's address plays in the electoral system, 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 send us the change on a Registration application.

Controls for Keeping a Registration Current
The Board has developed two programs:

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

Registered voters who cannot make it to the polls on Election Day because of occupation, business, studies, travel, imprisonment (other than a convicted felon), illness, disability and hospitalization or resident in a long term care facility, may vote by absentee ballot.

In order to vote by Absentee Ballot, you must request an Absentee Ballot Application.

Absentee ballot requests must include the following information:

• Name
• Address on voter registration
• Mailing address (if different)
• Reason for voting absentee
• Signature

You can receive an Absentee Ballot Application one of three ways:

• Download a PDF form
• Download a Word form
• Call the office and we will send you a postage-paid Absentee Ballot Application form in the mail.
• Visit our office

Fill out the Absentee Ballot Application completely using only a pen with blue or black ink.

Bring in the application or mail (do not FAX) the Absentee Ballot Application to the office.

To be counted, an absentee ballot must be postmarked by the day before Election Day and must reach the Board of Elections no more than seven (7) days after the election.

Using an Absentee Ballot
When you receive an absentee ballot, read the directions that are printed in it. Do not use any other marks. Do not write anywhere on the ballot. The only time you may write on the ballot is when you want to vote for someone else whose name does not appear on the ballot - then you may write his or her name in the write-in. If there are propositions up for vote, you will find them on the back of the ballot. Mark your vote next to either "yes" or "no".

After making your votes near your choices, fold the ballot and put it in the smaller envelope. Sign and date the back of the envelope. Seal the envelope and put it in the larger envelope that is addressed to the Board of Elections. Mail or deliver your ballot following the regulations described in the other sections above.