Voters Can Now Register Online In New York State

Getting people registered to vote seems like it's always a struggle.  Now, they're giving voters another option to get registered.

What are the requirements needed to vote in New York State?

According to the New York State Board of Elections 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);
• 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;
• not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court;
• not claim the right to vote elsewhere.

How many eligible voters are registered to vote in New York State?

It is a right to be able to vote for the candidate of your choice in the United States.  However, many people never actually take advantage of that right.  According to the US Census, 69.1% of the citizen voting-age population registered to vote for the most recent mid-term election, up 2.2 percentage points from 66.9% in 2018, according to Current Population Survey (CPS).  That means that 30% of people who are of age and are eligible to vote don't even register.

In New York State, that number is a little higher.  According to the Board of Elections, there are 80% of eligible voters that are registered to vote.  But again, that means that 20% are not registered.

What are the options to register to vote?

The information to register to vote is available through the board of elections website.

• 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 their 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 board of elections mailing list database.
• You can call 1-800-FOR-VOTE (1-800-367-8683) hotline to request a voter application.
• You can now register online through a portal in New York State

How does the online registration work?

You will need an NY.gov ID to sign in.  If you've used the NY.gov ID with another agency, you can use that ID to sign in.  If not, you will have to create an NY.gov ID and password.  You will fill out the proper information to register and then the information will be sent to the person’s county board of elections to be verified.

That's it.

Remember, this is not to cast a vote, rather just to register to vote.