Important deadlines for the primary elections

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — New York’s primary elections are coming up next month.

There are several deadlines that voters need to keep in mind if they’re planning to cast their ballots in the June 28 Primary Election, especially if they need to change any information on their voter registration or if they want to vote by mail this year.

Deadlines

New voters: Need to register by June 3. Click here to register to vote online. Not sure if you’re eligible to vote or what documents you’ll need to do it? Click here to find out.

Voters who need to change their address: Must do so by June 8. Click here to check your registration and change your address if necessary.

Voters who want an absentee ballot: Need to send out mail-in absentee ballot applications in time for them to be postmarked by June 13 or they can apply for an absentee ballot in person by June 27. Absentee ballots must be postmarked June 28 in order to be counted. Click here to request an absentee ballot. Voters can still select "temporary illness" when requesting an absentee ballot over COVID-19 concerns until at least December 2022. New this year: Voters can not change their minds and vote on a machine after applying for an absentee ballot—they will have to vote by affidavit and the affidavit ballot will only be counted if an absentee ballot was not received. This is due to a recent change in New York State law.

Click here to check your registration status.

Moving between June 8 and June 28? The Board of Elections says in that case, you’ll have to vote by affidavit ballot during either the early voting period or on election day using your new address. When you fill out the affidavit ballot using your new address, your voter record will be updated.

Not affiliated with a political party? Were you hoping to change your party enrollment to vote in a different primary? New York is a closed primary state and it does not allow voters to change their party affiliation on Election Day. The deadline to change party enrollment was back on Feb. 14, 2022. Click here to learn more about how to change your party enrollment for future elections.

Early Voting

The early voting period for this election is from June 18 through June 26. Click here to see the county’s list of early voting locations and the times that they are open.

Still have questions? Call the Monroe County Board of Elections at 585-753-1550.