Qualifications to Register to Vote

To register to vote, you must:

• be a United States citizen;
• be 18 years old (you may pre-register at 16 or 17 but cannot vote until you are 18);
• be a resident of this state and the county, city or village for at least 30 days before the election;
• not be in prison for a felony conviction;
  • Notice of Felon Registration Rights ( pdf 134KB)
  • Notice on Felon Registration ( pdf 87.8KB)
  • FAQ Your Right to Vote After Release ( pdf 151KB)
• not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court;
• not claim the right to vote elsewhere.

Unsure if you are already registered to vote? Please check here.

How and Where to Register to Vote (Deadlines)

• You can register online using the NYS Board of Elections' new Online Voter Registration Portal
• You can register in person at your county board of elections or at any New York State Agency-Based voter registration center.
• You may also submit your voter application form at the Department of Motor Vehicles, either in person or on the NYS DMV web site if you already have DMV-issued identification.
• You can request a New York State Voter Registration form by mail by entering your name directly into the mailing list database.
• You can call the 1-800-FOR-VOTE hotline to request a voter application.

New York State Voter Registration Form

• You may register to vote using the New York State Voter Registration Form accessible at the links below. You can complete a PDF version of the New York State Voter Registration Form on-line by clicking on the link below, typing the necessary information and selecting the appropriate boxes. Alternatively, you can print the form to complete by hand.
  • Complete English Form On-line ( 306KB)
  • Complete Spanish Form On-Line ( 310KB)
  • Once the form is completed, you need to print the form and sign it. We cannot accept any kind of digital or Adobe-generated signature. Then, mail the form to your county board of elections.
• You can also complete an Accessible version of the New York State Voter Registration Form on-line by clicking on the link below, typing the necessary information and selecting the appropriate boxes.
  • Accessible English Form On-line
  • Accessible Spanish Form On-Line
  • Once the form is completed, you need to print the form and sign and date it. Then, mail the form to your county board of elections.

Adobe Acrobat (PDF)

Documents on this page with an Adobe PDF file icon after the name are in Adobe Portable Document Format. These documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Visit the Adobe Website  to download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

How to Make Changes to Your Registration

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 20 days before a special, primary or general election by the county board of elections must be processed and entered in the records in time for that election.

Change of Party Enrollment

The voter registration form should be used to change your party enrollment from one party to another or to enroll for the first time in a party. An application to change one's party enrollment for the primary election in any year must be received by the board of elections no later than February 14th of that year. Changes received on or after February 15th until seven days after the June Primary will be set aside and opened seven days following the June Primary and entered in the voter's registration record. Please see Deadlines referenced above.

How to Cancel Your Registration

In order to have your name removed from the voting rolls, pursuant to N.Y. Election Law section 5-400, you must send a written letter to the local board of elections where you lived requesting to have your registration cancelled. You must send a written letter, you cannot accomplish this via email. Contact information for all local boards is available at the county board of elections page.

Victims of Domestic Violence

N.Y. Election Law (5-508) allows victims of domestic violence who obtain a court order from NY Supreme Court in the county where they are registered to have their voter registration record kept separate and apart from other registration records and not be made available for inspection or copying by the public or any other person, except election officials acting within the course and scope of their official duties. Under a separate section of the law (11-306), you can also be excused from going to your polling place to vote and get a special ballot. For further information, you should contact your local board of elections for their confidential registration and special ballot procedures.