Voting in the General Election, 2020
Updated October 22, 2020
How be Sure Your Vote Counts this Fall
We have gleaned this information from the Rockland County Board of Elections. Our main point is that voting is essential. If you want to be sure your vote counts, make a plan now and take the steps needed. It is easy to do, but do not procrastinate. Thank you to Mary Mathews, Regina Kelly and Mimi Hoffman for their help.
Registering to Vote If You Have Changed Your Address
Most of us are already registered to vote and do not need to take any action on this. But if you have moved recently, click to download and fill-in the New York State Registration Form to indicate your change of address. Just fill it out and mail it in. If you do not want to download a form, you can call 1-800-FOR-VOTE (1-800-367-8683) to request a voter registration form. Your Registration form must be postmarked by October 9th, but why not fill it out and send it in now?
Who is on the Ballot?
President
Donald Trump (Incumbent) Republican
Joseph Biden - Democrat
Congress - All citizens of Rockland County are in the 17 U.S. Congressional District.
Mondaire Jones - Democrat
Maureen McArdle Schulman - Republican
New York State Senate - All CAN members live in State Senate District 38.
Elijah Reichlin-Melnick - Democrat
William Weber - Republican
New York State Assembly District 97 - This Assembly District includes Nyack, South Nyack, and Grand View on Hudson, as well as areas of Rockland south along the Hudson and west along the border with New Jersey.
Ellen Jaffee (Incumbent) - Democrat
Michael Lawler - Republican
New York State Assembly District 96 - This Assembly District includes Central Nyack and Upper Nyack, as well as Nanuet. The current Kenneth Zebrowski (Incumbent) - Democrat, running unopposed.
Question about the Palisades Mall
Voters who live in Clarkstown also have a question on the back of the ballot about whether or not to allow the Palisades Mall to expand.
We have listed the major candidates. If you would like to see all of the candidates running for office in your area, you can find them at Ballotpedia. Click here to look up your ballot choices. Ballotpedia also has lots of information about elections in this country, including candidates, funding, changes over time, and close races.
Donald Trump (Incumbent) Republican
Joseph Biden - Democrat
Congress - All citizens of Rockland County are in the 17 U.S. Congressional District.
Mondaire Jones - Democrat
Maureen McArdle Schulman - Republican
New York State Senate - All CAN members live in State Senate District 38.
Elijah Reichlin-Melnick - Democrat
William Weber - Republican
New York State Assembly District 97 - This Assembly District includes Nyack, South Nyack, and Grand View on Hudson, as well as areas of Rockland south along the Hudson and west along the border with New Jersey.
Ellen Jaffee (Incumbent) - Democrat
Michael Lawler - Republican
New York State Assembly District 96 - This Assembly District includes Central Nyack and Upper Nyack, as well as Nanuet. The current Kenneth Zebrowski (Incumbent) - Democrat, running unopposed.
Question about the Palisades Mall
Voters who live in Clarkstown also have a question on the back of the ballot about whether or not to allow the Palisades Mall to expand.
We have listed the major candidates. If you would like to see all of the candidates running for office in your area, you can find them at Ballotpedia. Click here to look up your ballot choices. Ballotpedia also has lots of information about elections in this country, including candidates, funding, changes over time, and close races.
Ways to Vote
This fall you have voting options. You can 1) request an Absentee Ballot and vote by Absentee, 2) vote by Early Voting that begins October 24, or 3) vote at your polling place on Election Day. The choice is yours. Here is the information you will need
Absentee Ballot
If you want to vote by mail, request your ballot as soon as you can. New York State will send out the ballots to those who have requested them starting October 3. By mailing your ballot back early, you will not need to worry about whether or not it got to the Board of Elections in time. In New York State these absentee ballots will all be counted. The final voting results will not be official until all of the votes are counted. However, in New York, absentee ballots are not counted until after election day.
If you plan to vote by absentee, you can request your ballot now. Before you do, please note that you will be asked why you need an absentee ballot. IMPORTANT: If you are voting absentee because of COVID risk, in Box 1 you will check “temporary illness or physical disability” as your reason.
Below are the steps you need to take to use the absentee ballot option. Click on each bold statement to see what to do.
If you plan to vote by absentee, you can request your ballot now. Before you do, please note that you will be asked why you need an absentee ballot. IMPORTANT: If you are voting absentee because of COVID risk, in Box 1 you will check “temporary illness or physical disability” as your reason.
Below are the steps you need to take to use the absentee ballot option. Click on each bold statement to see what to do.
How to Request an Absentee Ballot Click to open. Click to close.
NOTE: The Post Office has advised that they cannot guarantee timely delivery of Absentee Ballots applied for less than 15 days before the election, and it takes the Board of Elections four days to process the absentee application. That means mail it before October 12th!
1) DOWNLOAD & PRINT APPLICATION (When completing the application form, print clearly, or you can fill out the PDF form and then print it). Click this link: Download Absentee Ballot Application
2) CALL 845-638-5172 to request an application by phone. Board of Elections staff will fill out the application by phone. IMPORTANT: you cannot call on behalf of another voter.
3) EMAIL REQUEST to [email protected] with the following: Name, Date of Birth, Address, Mailing Address (where ballot should be sent), and reason for the request, which is "Temporary Illness due to COVID-19 risk."
1) DOWNLOAD & PRINT APPLICATION (When completing the application form, print clearly, or you can fill out the PDF form and then print it). Click this link: Download Absentee Ballot Application
2) CALL 845-638-5172 to request an application by phone. Board of Elections staff will fill out the application by phone. IMPORTANT: you cannot call on behalf of another voter.
3) EMAIL REQUEST to [email protected] with the following: Name, Date of Birth, Address, Mailing Address (where ballot should be sent), and reason for the request, which is "Temporary Illness due to COVID-19 risk."
How to Send Your Application for an Absentee Ballot Click to open. Click to close.
Your choices for sending your application for an Absentee Ballot to the Board of Elections are these:
Please note: The Post Office has advised that they cannot guarantee timely delivery of Absentee Ballots applied for less than 15 days before the election, plus The Board of Elections says they need four days to process your application. That means mail it before October 12th!
11 New Hempstead Rd
New City, NY 10956
You will then receive your absentee ballot in the mail.
Please note: The Post Office has advised that they cannot guarantee timely delivery of Absentee Ballots applied for less than 15 days before the election, plus The Board of Elections says they need four days to process your application. That means mail it before October 12th!
- Mail your completed application to:
11 New Hempstead Rd
New City, NY 10956
- Return your application electronically to [email protected]
- FAX your application to 845-638-5196
You will then receive your absentee ballot in the mail.
How to Cast an Absentee Ballot Click to open. Click to close.
- Once you receive the ballot, mark the ballot according to your choices for each office following the instructions on the ballot.
- After you have completed marking your ballot, fold it up and place it in the Security Envelope (the envelope with a place for your signature) and seal it.
- Sign and date the outside of the Security Envelope.
- Seal the Security Envelope.
- Place it in the Return Envelope. (This envelope will have the return address of your county Board of Elections on the outside and should have a logo that reads, "Official Election Mail").
- Seal the Return Envelope.
How to Mail in or Deliver Your Ballot Safely Click to open. Click to close.
By mail:
Mail it immediately. The earlier the better!
Board of Elections in Rockland County
11 New Hempstead Rd
New City, NY 10956
Remember: As the deadline approaches, you may ask the Post Office to physically stamp your ballot so that you can ensure your ballot has the proper postmark date.
Return the ballot in person:
If you prefer to drop off your ballot rather than mailing it. You must wear a mask if you return your ballot in person.
Mail it immediately. The earlier the better!
Board of Elections in Rockland County
11 New Hempstead Rd
New City, NY 10956
Remember: As the deadline approaches, you may ask the Post Office to physically stamp your ballot so that you can ensure your ballot has the proper postmark date.
Return the ballot in person:
If you prefer to drop off your ballot rather than mailing it. You must wear a mask if you return your ballot in person.
- You or a representative can return it to any of our poll sites on Election Day.
- You or a representative can return it to any of our early voting centers during Early Voting.
- You or a representative can return it to the Board of Elections during regular business hours: Monday through Friday, 9AM – 5PM.
Early In-Person Voting for 2020
When you vote early, you can vote at any of the Early Voting Centers listed below. When you go there, the directions will be very clear, and the process will be easy. An election volunteer will look you up electronically, so you won't need to worry about which table to go to, or what book you are in.
There will be nine days of early voting before the November election:
NOTE: In Rockland County registered voters may access any early voting center.
1. Clarkstown Town Hall, 10 Maple Avenue, New City, New York 10956
2. Haverstraw Town Hall, 1 Rosman Road, Garnerville, New York 10923
3. Orangetown Town Hall, 26 West Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, New York 10962
4. Ramapo Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Suffern, New York 10901
Voting at Your Regular Voting Place
Put on your mask, stay physically distanced, and cast your vote at your usual polling place on November 3. If you are not sure where to vote, you can look up your polling place at this link: https://vic2.ntsdata.net/rocklandboe/pollingplacelookup.aspx
This information is also available from the Rockland County Board of Elections.
– Ann
There will be nine days of early voting before the November election:
- Saturday, October 24, 2020 from 9AM until 2PM
- Sunday, October 25, 2020 from 9AM until 2PM
- Monday, October 26, 2020 from 9AM until 5PM
- Tuesday, October 27, 2020 from 12Noon until 8PM
- Wednesday, October 28, 2020 from 9AM until 5PM
- Thursday, October 29, 2020 from 12Noon until 8PM
- Friday, October 30, 2020 from 9AM until 5PM
- Saturday, October 31, 2020 from 9AM until 2PM
- Sunday, November 1, 2020 from 9AM until 2PM
NOTE: In Rockland County registered voters may access any early voting center.
1. Clarkstown Town Hall, 10 Maple Avenue, New City, New York 10956
2. Haverstraw Town Hall, 1 Rosman Road, Garnerville, New York 10923
3. Orangetown Town Hall, 26 West Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, New York 10962
4. Ramapo Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Suffern, New York 10901
Voting at Your Regular Voting Place
Put on your mask, stay physically distanced, and cast your vote at your usual polling place on November 3. If you are not sure where to vote, you can look up your polling place at this link: https://vic2.ntsdata.net/rocklandboe/pollingplacelookup.aspx
This information is also available from the Rockland County Board of Elections.
– Ann