Suffolk Election Day checklist

Election Day is Tuesday. Polls open in Suffolk County at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.

ELIGIBLE VOTERS. Residents who are registered voters with the Suffolk County Board of Elections are eligible to cast ballots. In accordance with state election law, a voter’s registration may have been inactivated if mail from the board to the voter was returned as undeliverable.  Also in accordance with state election law, a registration may have been canceled if the voter was on an inactive list and did not vote in two consecutive federal elections.  If voters get to the polls and find they are not on the list of eligible voters, they can still vote by affidavit, which will act as a new registration form.    

VOTING PROCEDURE. Voting instructions and a sample ballot are posted at all voting places. Election officials are available for help in operating the voting machines. Judges will be available for election-related rulings throughout the day and night. Bilingual poll inspectors are available at polling places; sample ballots appear in English and Spanish. A Spanish language ballot is available at all polling sites.   

ABSENTEE BALLOTS.  Completed absentee ballot applications must be postmarked no later than Oct. 30 or be brought to the board in person no later than Nov 5.  If mailing, the completed general election ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 5 and received by the board no later than Nov. 13. If being returned in person, the completed ballot must be returned to the board no later than Election Day or to any Suffolk County polling place on Election Day.

WRITE-IN VOTING. To vote for a person not on the published ballot, voters can write the name on the paper ballot used in the voting machines. Voters can ask an election official for assistance with a write-in ballot. Be sure to spell the name correctly and to add no extra marks.

POLLING PLACES. The Suffolk County Board of Elections has mailed out postcards with voting sites. Suffolk voters, especially those who have not received a registration postcard, can call 631-852-4500  or visit SuffolkVotes.com to check eligibility and verify their polling place.

DISABLED VOTERS. Each polling place will have a voting machine that can accommodate wheelchairs, has tactile voting for the blind and sip-and-puff or rocker panels for quadriplegics.