Hotline set up to aid primary election voters, AG says

Voters who encounter trouble at the polls during Tuesday’s primary election can call a state hotline, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said.

Schneiderman urged voters experiencing problems or issues at the polls to call the office’s hotline at 800-771-7755 or email civil.rights@ag.ny.gov.

The help will be available during voting hours, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The hotline will be staffed by attorneys and other staff in the office’s Civil Rights Bureau, Schneiderman said.

Voters should be aware that New York has a closed primary system, meaning that in order to vote in a party’s primary election, a voter must be registered with that party, with one exception.

Voters not registered as members of a party can vote in Reform Party primary races, the state Board of Elections said.

In Nassau and Suffolk counties, polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. In all, there are 20 elections for county, town, city and judicial posts from East Hampton to Glen Cove.