Voting is your right! Don’t let bad actors or the need for disability-related or language assistance accommodations keep you from casting your ballot. Your rights as a voter include:
- Privacy! You have the right to vote privately and independently, and who you plan to cast a ballot for is private information (unless you decide to spread the news). After you’ve cast a ballot, the fact that you voted is documented and may be used by political campaigns to inform future outreach/engagement, but who you voted for isn’t.
- Accommodations: You have the right to an accessible polling place and accessible voting machines. Any voter who requests assistance is entitled to receive it, regardless of the reason. Learn more here.
- Staying in Line: You have the right to vote if you are in line to do so when polls close.
- Time Off: If you do not have four consecutive hours between when polls open (6am) and the start of your workday, or four consecutive hours between the end of your workday and polls closing (9pm), you are entitled to 2 hours of paid time off in order to cast your ballot. Read more here.
- An Experience Free From Intimidation: You have the right to vote in a peaceable environment, free from interference, intimidation, or campaigning. Read more here about potential intimidation at the polls, and if you think you’ve experienced intimidation, we encourage you to report it to the New York State Attorney General’s Office:
- Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-390-2992
- Election Complaint Form: https://electionhotline.ag.ny.gov/
Learn more here about your right to vote and what’s being done to protect it.