• be a United States citizen;
• be 18 years old by December 31 of the year in which you file this form (note: you must be 18 years old by the date of the general, primary or other election in which you want to vote);
• live at your present address at least 30 days before an election;
• not be in jail or on parole for a felony conviction and;
• not claim the right to vote elsewhere.

MAIL REGISTRATION

Applications must be postmarked no later than October 8th and received by Suffolk County board of elections not later than October 13th to be eligible to vote in the General Election.

IN PERSON REGISTRATION

You may register at the Suffolk County board of elections or any state agency participating in the National Voter Registration Act, on any business day throughout the year. In order to vote in the November general election, your application must be received no later than October 8th. If you have been honorably discharged from the military or have become a naturalized citizen after October 8th, you may register in person at the Suffolk County board of elections up until October 22nd.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Notice of change of address from registered voters must be received by the Suffolk County board of elections no later than October 13th.

• You can register in person at the Suffolk County board of elections (address shown below)
  
• You can also register in person at any New York State Agency-Based voter registration center.
• You can call the NYS 1-800-FOR-VOTE hotline to request a voter application.
• You can download a PDF version of the New York State Voter Registration Form.
  • Download English Form ( 69KB)
  • Download Spanish Form ( 115KB)
    Print the form, complete and sign it, and mail it to the Suffolk County board of elections.
• The Suffolk County board of elections is located at:

Yaphank Avenue
P. O. Box 700
Yaphank, NY 11980

Phone: 631-852-4500
Fax: 631-852-4590 

In order to vote as an absentee, you must meet one of the following criteria:

• be unavoidably absent from Suffolk County;
• be unable to appear at the polls due to illness or disability;
• be a patient in a Veterans’ Administration Hospital;
• detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felony;

Here are the instructions for casting an absentee ballot:

• You can obtain an application in person or by mail from the Suffolk County board of elections or you can download a PDF version of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form. ( 55KB)
• If you request an application by mail, it must be received no earlier than 30 days and no later than 7 days prior to the election. Be sure to include the following required information:
  • the address where you are registered
  • an address where the ballot is to be sent
  • the reason for the request, and
  • the signature of the voter
• An application form will be mailed with your ballot. The application form must be completed and returned with your ballot.  Upon completion, applications must be mailed to the Suffolk County board of elections no later than the seventh day before the election or delivered in person no later than the day before the election.

• If you are unable to  pick up your ballot, or receive it through the mail, you have the right to designate someone to pick it up for you. Only the 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 board of elections containing a statement which describes the particulars of your illness or disability. The Board will review the facts stated, and if satisfied, will mark your registration record. You will then automatically receive an absentee ballot for every election until your registration is canceled.

• If you are in the military, you may vote from your designated 'home of record', regardless of where you are stationed.
• You can register and vote in local, state and federal elections by completing an application and sending it to the board of elections in your 'home of record' county.
• Your application will register you and also serve as your absentee ballot application, and will be valid for 2 federal elections.
• Applications are available from your Voting Assistance Officer on base, or you can visit www.fvap.gov for forms and information.
• Always be sure to submit any change of address information with your county board of elections. 
• If you have any questions, call the NYS board of elections at 518-473-5086 or the Federal Voter Assistance Program at 1-800-438-8683, or contact your Voting Assistance Officer or US Embassy office.