Here are the current rules

The Office of the Attorney General’s Election Protection Hotline will be available to troubleshoot and resolve issues voters are experiencing or to report voter intimidation until Wednesday (November 6). Call 866-390-2992 or visit selectionhotline.ag.ny.gov. The hotline is open from 9am to 6pm on November 4th and 6th and from 6am to 9pm on Election Day.

■ It is illegal to canvass or canvass inside or within 100 feet of a polling place.

■ If your name is not on the list of voters at your polling station, but you believe you are in the right place and at the table and eligible to vote, you have the right to request, complete and submit an affidavit ballot. That ballot is set aside until election officials check for eligibility. Once confirmed, it is tallied and tallied.

■ If you are in the voting queue when the polls close at 9pm, you are still eligible to vote. Stay in line.

■ All voters have the right to privacy in the voting booth and it is illegal for anyone to intrude on your privacy while voting. No one has the right to ask to see your ballot and it is illegal to show your completed ballot to anyone, including posting it on social media.

■ If you are in jail on a felony charge, in jail awaiting trial, or on parole or probation, you are eligible to vote in New York. If you have been convicted of a felony and have served your full sentence, you are eligible to vote, but you must re-register.

Voter identification

■ Voters are never required to show photo ID to vote in New York. However, depending on how you registered and if you are a first-time voter, there is a small chance that polling site officials will ask you to confirm your name and address with an official document, such as a photo ID or a copy of your checking account. utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or other government document showing your name and address. If you don’t have any of these forms of identification but think you’re eligible to vote, you can request an affidavit or submit a mail-in ballot.

Accessibility

■ Under New York law, reasonable accommodations must be made to voters with disabilities. If you are voting in person, a friend or relative can help you at the booth. Election inspectors can also help and provide auxiliary devices. A poll worker can make reasonable accommodations, such as having a chair, asking someone else to stand in line, or moving you to the front of the line if you cannot stand for long periods of time.

If you vote by mail, you can submit an available absentee ballot. Request a absentee card for persons with disabilities through the state election commission. You can sign the protective envelope with a raised marker (you can sign anywhere on the envelope if you have trouble signing it with a marker). You can also use an electronic voting method to mark your ballot with your own assistive technology.

Intimidation of voters

It is illegal for anyone to intimidate, threaten or coerce voters into violating their right to vote. It is also prohibited to carry any firearm, rifle or shotgun into the polling stations, and to use any other weapon to intimidate or harass voters. Other examples of potentially illegal voter intimidation include:

• Individuals or groups patrolling outside polling stations and trying to scare people away from the queue;
• Polling station observers aggressively challenge large numbers of voters or target voters in a certain demographic category, resulting in long lines and false fears that voters may be voting illegally;
• Poll watchers stand near private voting booths or in unauthorized locations, videotape or photograph voters in a polling station, or stalk or harass voters in a polling station;
• Civilians dressed as law enforcement officers and harassing voters at polling stations;
• People who spread rumors about the negative consequences of voting; or
• Individuals or groups who have weapons or display foreign military uniforms or other military paraphernalia at polling stations.

Under federal law, voter intimidation includes threats of violence against voters, threats to evict someone for voting or using voter information to track down old warrants, publicly distributing people’s names and addresses, or “doxing,” and following voters to the polls and talking loudly to attract them to responsibility for illegal voting. In addition, economic coercion, such as boycotting a business or threatening to share information with debt collectors, can be considered illegal voter intimidation.

Source: General Prosecutor’s Office

Type: Explainer

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