Qualifications to Register to Vote:

• be a United States citizen;
• be 18 years old (you may pre-register at 16 or 17 but cannot vote until you are 18);
• resident of this state and the county town or village for at least 30 days before the election;
• Not be in prison for a felony conviction; 
• Not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court;
• Not claim the right to vote elsewhere.

• You can register in person at your county board of elections or at any New York State Agency-Based voter registration center.
• You can complete a PDF version of the New York State Voter Registration Form online by clicking here. Type the necessary information and select the appropriate boxes. Once the form is completed, you need to print the form and sign it. We can not accept any kind of digital or Adobe-generated signature. Then, mail the form to your county board of elections. Alternatively, you can print the form to complete by hand.
• You can request a New York State Voter Registration form by mail by entering your name directly into the New York State Board of Elections mailing list data base here.
• You can also complete an Accessible version of the New York State Voter Registration Form on-line here, typing the necessary information and selection the appropriate boxes.
• You can register online here.

Change of Name and/or Address

The voter registration form should be used as a change of address form. Notices of change of address from registered voters received at least 10 days before a special, primary or general election by a county board of elections must be processed and entered in the records in time for that election.

Change of Party Enrollment 

Any change of enrollment must be received by the Board of Elections no later than February 14th and will not take effect until 7 days after the Primary Election.

You can find your registration status and poll site information here.

Click here for information provided by the NYS Board of Elections.
Anyone who may want to run for a local office such as County, Town or Village please contact the Franklin County Board of Elections for information. 

Qualifications to Vote by Absentee Ballot 

1. Absent from your county on Election Day.
2. Unable to appear at the polls due to temporary or permanent illness or disability.
3. Unable to appear because you are the primary care giver of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled.
4. A resident or patient of a Veterans Health Administration Hospital.
5. Detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony.

How to Apply for an Absentee Ballot 

You may apply for an absentee ballot in any of the following ways:

• By utilizing the NYSBOE online Absentee Application Portal.
• By going in-person to our office.
• By designating another person to deliver your application in-person to our office and receive your ballot
• By mail or fax.

You can download a PDF version of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form:

Download English Form ( 539KB) >  

If you cannot pick up your ballot, or will not be able to receive it through the mail, you have the right to designate someone to pick it up for you. Only that person designated on your application may pick up and deliver your ballot.

If you are permanently ill or disabled, you have the right to receive an Absentee Ballot for each subsequent election without further application. Simply file an application with your county board of elections indicating permanent illness or physical disability.

You will then automatically receive an absentee ballot for every election until your registration is canceled.

Accessible Absentee Ballot Application

This options may be used by someone who is visually impaired or otherwise disabled, should such a disability prevent a person from being able to independently cast a paper absentee ballot.

If you cannot affirm that you are visually impaired or otherwise disabled you must request a regular absentee ballot using the regular application or portal linked above.

If you are visually impaired or otherwise have a disability such that your disability requires you to use a special accessible absentee ballot that can be read by a screen reader, you have two accessible options to request such a ballot on this page, either using the Accessible Electronic Ballot Application or Application Portal.

Voters using the accessible absentee ballot system in need of printing services in order to print their ballot can access such services at certain public printing resources, including but not limited to, libraries, print stores, shipping stores, and office supply stores. Voters should contact their local printing resources for details on the printing services offered. Voters using the accessible absentee ballot system can also print their absentee ballots at the Board of Elections office. 

In-person voting using an accessible Ballot Marking Device (“BMD”) during early voting or on Election Day is still available to voters with a disability who do not want to vote by absentee ballot using the accessible absentee ballot system.

How to Cast an Absentee Ballot

• Once your receive the ballot, mark the ballot according to your choices for each office following the instructions on the ballot
• Once you have completed marking your ballot fold it up and place it in the Security Envelope. (This envelope will have a place for your signature.)
• Sign and date the outside of the Security Envelope.
• Seal the Security Envelope.
• Place the Security Envelope 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.

You may return the ballot in any of the following ways:

1. Put it in the mail ensuring it receives a postmark no later than November 8th.
2. Bringing it to the County Board of Elections Office no later than November 8th by 9pm.
3. Bringing it to the early voting poll site between October 29th and Nov 6th.
4. Bringing it to a poll site on November 8th by 9pm.

Mail Time Considerations When Returning an Absentee Ballot

When mailing your completed ballot, the USPS recommends that voters allow enough time for ballots to be returned to the Board, which is generally seven days ahead of the general election. Voters who mail in their ballots on Election Day must be aware of the posted collection times on collection boxes and at the Postal Service’s retail facilities, and that ballots entered after the last posted collection time will not be postmarked until the following business day.

Absentee Cures

There are certain errors or problems that can occur when a voter completes an absentee ballot envelope. Many of these errors or problems are curable by means of filing a cure statement with your board of elections. If your ballot envelope has a curable defect, you will receive a notice from the board of elections. The cure process is described here ( 141KB).

New Absentee Ballot Procedure

Due to a recent change in law, New York State voters are no longer permitted to cast a ballot on a voting machine if they have already been issued an absentee ballot for that election. Voters who have already been issued an absentee ballot can still vote in person using an affidavit ballot. The affidavit ballot will be kept separate until the election is completed. Election officials will verify whether the voter’s absentee ballot has been received. If the voter’s absentee ballot has been received, the affidavit ballot will not be counted. If the voter’s absentee ballot has not been received, the affidavit ballot will be counted.

If a voter requests a second absentee ballot, any previously issued absentee ballot that is returned by the voter will be set aside unopened to provide the voter a chance to return the second ballot, unless the first ballot has already been opened. If both ballots are received before the return deadline, the ballot with the later postmark date is accepted and any other ballots that have been received are rejected, unless the first ballot has already been opened. If a voter submits more than one timely absentee ballot and cast an affidavit ballot, the last received ballot, either submitted in person during the election or by mail within the absentee return deadline, will be canvassed.