New York State Has Issued Guidance To Inform Voters Of Their Rights

New York State has issued guidance to inform voters of their rights and help them vote safely in the November 3 general election.

State Attorney General Letitia James reminded voters that state and federal laws protect their right to cast a ballot free from intimidation, harassment, or interference from anyone, including government officials and armed federal agents. A new guidance on voters’ rights to language assistance has been released with the OAG’s office sending a letter to local Boards of Elections (BOEs) and law enforcement agencies reminding them of their responsibility to stop voter intimidation and protect every voter at the polls

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG)’s Election Protection Hotline will be available to help voters resolve problems from Saturday, October 24 through Wednesday, November 4. New Yorkers can call 866-390-2992 or submit a complaint online. Anyone who witnesses potentially dangerous or violent conduct should call 911 immediately.

Every New York voter has the right to vote freely and without fear of intimidation, coercion, or threats to their safety. Every voter has the right to:

• Vote without showing photo ID. New York never requires photo identification to vote. If a voter is voting for the first time in their district and did not provide identification when they registered, they may be asked to confirm their name and address. They can choose to show a photo ID or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document with their name and address. If they have none of these, they can still cast an affidavit ballot.
• Refuse demands for ID or proof of citizenship from poll watchers or observers. Only election officials can ask for identification, and only in the limited case above. A poll watcher, observer, or any other person demanding to see a voter’s ID or proof of citizenship may be engaging in illegal voter intimidation.
• Vote in private. No one may stand anywhere that lets them see how a person votes, and no one may be within three feet of the ballot scanner, ballot marking device, or privacy booth while someone is using it. It is a crime for anyone to ask to see a person’s completed ballot. However, voters may bring a trusted individual to the polling site to help fill out their ballot.
• Cast an affidavit ballot. If a person’s name is not on the voter list but they believe they are eligible and at the right polling site, they can request an affidavit ballot. Election officials will count it once they confirm eligibility and the voter’s address.
• Stay in line. If someone is in line when polls close, they still have the right to vote.
• Vote free from campaigning. Electioneering is banned inside polling places and within 100 feet of the entrance. Within that zone, no political banners, buttons, posters, or placards are allowed, and no one may urge anyone to vote a certain way.
• Vote with a criminal record. If someone is in jail awaiting trial, incarcerated on a misdemeanor, or on parole or probation, they are eligible to vote. If a person has been released from prison after a felony conviction, they are eligible to vote but may need to re-register. However, people currently incarcerated for a felony conviction cannot vote.

New Yorkers who have difficulty reading or writing in English have the right to bring someone to the polls to help them vote. The person helping does not have to be a U.S. citizen or a registered voter and can be a minor, family member, or friend – it just cannot be the voter’s employer, an agent of the employer, or an officer or agent of the voter’s union.

Voters can contact their county board of elections to learn whether it provides language assistance. Questions about language access can be sent to OAG at votinglanguage@ag.ny.gov.

Under New York law, voters with disabilities must receive reasonable accommodations to ensure meaningful access to voting.

Under state and federal law, it is illegal for anyone to intimidate, threaten, or coerce voters to interfere with their right to vote. It is also illegal to obstruct or impede someone trying to vote or participate in the voting process. Examples of potentially illegal voter intimidation include:

• Individuals or groups patrolling outside polling places and trying to scare people out of line;
• Poll watchers aggressively challenging large numbers of voters, or targeting voters of a particular background, to create long lines and false fears of illegal voting;
• Poll watchers standing near privacy booths or in unauthorized areas, recording or photographing voters, or following or harassing voters;
• Civilians dressing as law enforcement officers and harassing voters;
• People carrying weapons or wearing foreign military uniforms or military gear at polling locations; and
• People spreading rumors that voting will have negative consequences.

Courts have also found that threatening to evict someone for voting, threatening to share voter information with debt collectors, threatening to use voter information to track down old warrants, publishing voters’ names and addresses online (“doxing”), and following voters to the polls while talking loudly about prosecuting them for illegal voting all constitute illegal voter intimidation. The First Amendment does not protect true threats or false statements meant to keep people from voting.

It is a felony to bring a firearm, rifle, or shotgun to a polling place in New York, or to threaten or harass someone with other dangerous objects, such as a baseball bat, tire iron, knife, or hammer.

Poll watchers can observe and report problems, but they cannot interfere with voters. Under New York law, poll watchers must be appointed in writing by a political party, independent body, candidate, or ballot proposal committee, and their certificate must be delivered to the election inspector. Each organization may have no more than three poll watchers per election district at a time, and only one may be inside the guard rail where election inspectors work.

Poll watchers may challenge a voter’s eligibility in appropriate circumstances, but they may not:

• Solicit votes or wear, carry, or hand out campaign literature, buttons, posters, or banners;
• Tamper with election materials, including posted signs or results tapes;
• Protest an election inspector’s ruling on a voter challenge; or
• Follow a voter to the privacy booth, ballot scanner, or ballot marking device.

A poll watcher who blocks voters from reaching the voting booths can be ordered to remain seated and removed if they refuse.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced plans to send monitors to polling places during the November election and may send monitors to New York. These monitors may not demand identification, challenge voters, direct or interfere with poll workers, or campaign or engage in political activity. DOJ monitors typically coordinate with local election officials in advance. Poll workers who encounter someone identifying as a DOJ monitor without prior notice should contact their county election officials.

It is a federal crime to order or keep troops, military personnel, or armed federal officers, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents, at a poll site. In addition, members of the military may not use force, threats, or intimidation to stop anyone from voting, and government officials may not use their authority to interfere in a federal election.

New York law also prohibits local governments and their employees from granting immigration enforcement officers access to a polling location in violation of these protections, unless they present a valid judicial warrant or court order.