How to register to vote in the upcoming NYC primary, even if you’re homeless

Don’t Delay: Deadline is Aug. 18

August 9, 2017 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Voting booths at the Urban Assembly School at 283 Adams St. in Downtown Brooklyn. Photo by Mary Frost

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The Tuesday, Sept. 12 primary is an important one in Brooklyn, with candidates for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, Brooklyn borough president, Brooklyn district attorney and a number of City Council members appearing on the ballot.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is running against six fellow Democrats, including Sal Albanese, in the primary. Nicole Malliotakis and Darren Dione Aquino are competing for the Republican slot. Public Advocate Letitia James is running against fellow Democrat Anthony Herbert.

You must register as a member of a political party, however, to vote in your party’s primary elections. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Friday, Aug. 18 — a date easily overlooked during the summer fun season.

If you’re not registered yet, you can download a registration form from the Board of Election’s (BOE) website, pick one up at your local BOE office or call 866-VOTE-NYC to request one by mail. You can submit the form to BOE in person or by mail, but it must be by the deadline. The BOE’s website is www.nyccfb.org/nyc-votes/registering.

New York residents can also register to vote online through the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles website.

If you are not sure if you are registered, use the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s (CFB) Voter Registration Look-up (https://voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/) to check your registration status online, or call the 866-VOTE-NYC.

People who have recently changed their home address must notify the Board of Elections within 25 days of the move. You do this by submitting a new voter registration form.

Even the homeless have the right to register and vote. CFB advises, “Fill out a voter registration form and write a location where you can be found, such as ‘Bench on Central Park on 86th Street,’ as the address where you live. You will be assigned a poll site based on this address. Write the address of a shelter, P.O. box or family member as the address where you receive mail. Your voter card will be sent to this address.”

CFB also provides a debate program for voters to compare candidates firsthand. The mayoral primary election debates will take place on Aug. 16 (Republican) and Aug. 23 (Democrat). The public advocate debate can be seen on Aug. 21, and the comptroller debate on Aug. 22. The mayoral general election debates will take place on Oct. 10 and on Nov. 1. Each debate will be broadcast on television, the radio and online. The complete schedule is available at: www.nyccfb.org/pdf/Debate_Program_Schedule.pdf.

Gotham Gazette provides a list of all the candidates running in this year’s election at www.gothamgazette.com/city/6676-candidates-for-2017-city-elections-mayor-city-council-comptroller.