By Gus Saltonstall
The run-up to the 2024 November General Election has been a long one, but the day is almost upon us.
There are very few local races to vote on this cycle, but it is of course a presidential election year. Election Day is on Tuesday, November 5, but early voting kicks off this Saturday, October 26.
Here is some useful information on this year’s election, including where on the Upper West Side and in Morningside Heights polling locations are, what to expect on the ballot, and how to register to vote.
Registering to Vote and Absentee Ballots
There is still time to register to vote in this election.
If you are unsure if you are registered, you can check on the New York City Board of Elections website — HERE.
For those who are not registered, but want to vote, you have until Saturday, October 26, to register in person or through the mail or online. You can find out more about these different options — HERE.
In terms of absentee ballots, you must put them in the mail to the Board of Elections no later than November 5. You can also bring them to a polling site for submission. You can request an absentee ballot — HERE.
Find Your Polling Site
The majority of voters will have different polling sites for early voting and Election Day.
Visit the following Board of Election’s link, and type in your address to find your sites.
A new page will appear that shows both your early voting and Election Day sites. Along with the locations, you will see details on where to enter the site, and the operating hours. Again, early voting starts on Saturday, October 26, and runs through Sunday, November 3.
This year, the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights polling sites include the American Museum of Natural History, West Side High School at 140 West 102nd Street, P.S. 75 at 735 West End Avenue, Red Oak apartments at 135 West 106th Street, and The Forum at Columbia University at 605 West 125th Street, and others.
What’s on the Ballot?
Ballotpedia has a tool that allows you to see exactly what will be on your ballot depending on what part of the neighborhood you live in. You can check it out — HERE.
In terms of Upper West Side races, some locals will see Assembly candidates Linda Rosenthal and Micah Lasher on their ballots, but both are running unopposed. There are two local contested races in the neighborhood, the first of which is taking place in State Senate District 47, where Republican candidate Emily Yuexin Miller is challenging Democratic incumbent Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
Congressman Jerry Nadler is also facing a challenge from Republican candidate Mike Zumbluskas.
Of course, there is the race for the President of the United States at the top of the ballot, where voters can choose between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
There will also be five ballot proposals for all New York City residents to vote on, which you can learn more about from our coverage last week.
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This year you no longer need to justify a request to vote by mail in NY–any registered voter can ask for a mail-in ballot. I think I’ll miss the wholesome atmosphere of voting in person, but it will be less stressful to mail in the ballot.
but the law is if you request an absentee ballot, you cannot vote in person. be aware of that change in law. “Voters are no longer permitted to cast a ballot on a voting machine if they have been issued an early mail or absentee ballot for that election. Voters who have already been issued an early mail or absentee ballot can still vote in person using an affidavit ballot.” https://vote.nyc/RequestBallot
You *can* still vote in person, you just have to go through the affidavit ballot process when you’re there. But good thing to flag.
Affidavit ballots don’t get counted in the same manner as machine votes. Election results are posted that evening of the election, affidavit ballots are first opened, sorted and counted well after the results are in. If you want your vote to count, don’t rely on affidavit ballots
I am pleased to see the neighborhood has additional early voting sites this election cycle. In 2020 the line at West Side High School was hours long from morning until night. This year my early voting location is much closer at Frank McCourt HS.
Early voting sites need to be in places other than public schools. Strangers enter the schools which we try to keep safe, they use gyms so that the students cannot have gym class for the week or more of early voting, and it’s simply a bad plan. The city needs to find other options for early voting.
Very few places have the capacity and open area needed to set up a polling site, and ballot scanners and poll workers require security as well.. To their credit I see both the AMNH and the Met Museum have offered their space as polling sites this cycle. A few years ago my site was in a church which was awkward to move around in because the pews are fixed to the floor. Do you have any workable alternative locations to suggest?
Assembly member Alex Bores has been working on this for a while: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/06/05/nyc-parents-lawmakers-want-early-voting-out-of-schools/
Voting should be compulsory and done on-line . The current process is confusing , time wasting and silly
Not everyone is online or prefers to vote that way. How to enforce compulsory voting is a good question.
Eh, why bother with another “law” that noone will enforce – at the very least because it won’t be in their interest to do so.
Not committing crimes is technically compulsory but then again… they’ve decided to look other way on most crimes now…
Please vote in better candidates.
Please vote against fascism.
While it is area workers like me who will have contested house races that determine the balance of power in congress or whether the state senate and assembly supermajorities are under threat.
Which House race on the UWS is contested?
Which House race in Manhattan is contested?
I realize the early voting hyperlink is for all of NY State, but really, there aren’t House seats in play on the UWS.
I am an area worker on the UWS and I live in a district where there are contested races.
Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote!
So Proposition 2 would give the city more ability to address dumping of trash, proliferation of “vendors” (anyone who feels entitled to sell whatever)?
How about restaurants (especially chains) putting out signage on the sidewalk?
Or businesses chaining advertising signs to poles?