Election Day Reminders for Western New York

Today is Tuesday, November 5; it’s supposed to be unseasonably warm with temperatures in the upper 70s across Western New York. 

It might also be a day where people are feeling a little hot under the collar as the long, stressful presidential election season starts to come to an end. 

A few reminders to avoid getting yourself in hot water on Election Day: 

Selfies are ok before you vote.

According to the New York State Board of Elections, you can take a photo of your ballot, but ONLY before you fill it out. In a long list of guidance issued by New York State Attorney General Tish James, she specifically calls out this practice, one that’s popular on social media but not permissible in New York. “No one should request to see your ballot, and it is illegal to show your completed ballot to anyone else—including by posting it on social media,” she says. When you’re at your voting spot, whether that’s sitting at a table or standing at a booth, so long as your ballot is blank, you can snap a photo. 

She also stresses that “All voters are entitled to privacy in the voting booth, and it is illegal for any other individual to invade your privacy while voting.” 

Also, if you’re in line at 9 p.m., when polls close in New York, you are still eligible to vote so long as you remain in line. Legally, your polling place cannot deny you your right to cast a ballot if you’re in line by the appointed time. 

If you’re walking into your polling place and you come across someone with campaign signs or asking you how you’re going to vote, they MUST be more than 100 feet outside the doors to the polling place. It’s ok for them to be on site; it’s ok for them to have material; they just have to stay at least 100 feet away from the polling place, or it’s considered electioneering. This includes wearing shirts, hats, pins, or any clothing item referring to a candidate or ballot item at any level of government. 

This was an issue over the weekend, where a few people “caused a scene” at an early voting location in West Seneca and prompted a reminder from Erie County Elections Commissioner Ralph Mohr. 

If you go into your polling place and your name is not on the list for the precinct, you are legally able to request and fill out an affidavit ballot.

An affidavit ballot is a provisional ballot that is not immediately scanned and counted on Election Day; it is set aside until election officials can verify your voter eligibility. Once confirmed, it is counted and tallied with the vote totals.” 

If you didn’t receive a voter ID card in the mail, if this is the first time you’re voting in your new precinct because you’ve moved, or if you can’t find the gray and white card, you will need to take something to verify your identity. This could be a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or other official government document with your name and current address. If you don’t have any of those handy (and in the age of online bill paying, that’s understandable), you can request an affidavit ballot as described above. 

While stress levels and emotions might be running high, now that early voting is done and all eyes are on the national election results coming in tonight, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia says his officers are prepared to handle whatever might happen. 

“We’ve made our dispatch center aware of where polling locations are, and we’ll have a soft command post set up; that way, if there’s any issues or concerns, they can be addressed through the chain of command and get to the proper side of the fence,” he said. 

Long lines might be expected at your polling place, even if the state is reporting around 3 million people statewide taking advantage of early voting between October 26 and November 3, including 151,106 early voters in Erie County and nearly 33,000 early voters in Niagara County. 

If you want to take a look at what’s on your ballot, information on the statewide initiative can be found here; you can confirm your polling place here. 

Remember that we might not know the final outcome of the presidential election for a few days, so try to be patient and let cooler heads prevail. Enjoy the beautiful weather—walking is a great stress reliever!