The New York State in-person and online registration deadline to vote in the upcoming November 3 General Election is October 24, 2026. Registrations sent by mail also must be received by the New York State Board of Elections no later than October 24. Any registered voter’s change of address notice must be received by October 19.
To vote in federal, state and municipal elections in the United States, you must meet citizenship requirements and be a registered voter. While students who are United States citizens have the option to register to vote where they live during the school year (such as on the Ithaca campus) or at their permanent home address, they may only vote once. Accurate information relating to name, address, and period of residence in the voting district is required by law.
If you are graduating and moving to a new address, you will need to update your voter registration. If you are moving within the state in which you are currently registered to vote, you can simply update your voter registration information according to state laws. If you are moving to another state, you will need to re-register with that state.
Eligibility:
To be eligible to register to vote in NYS, you must:
- Be a United States citizen;
- Be 18 years of age by the date of the election in which you want to vote;
- Be a resident of NYS and the county, city or village for at least 30 days before the election in which you want to vote;
- Not be in prison for a felony conviction;
- Not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court; and
- Not claim the right to vote elsewhere.
Registration:
There are various ways to register to vote (or update your voter information, such as change of address) in NYS including:
- Online: Register online via the voter registration portal. (Note, to register online you will need to use a NY.Gov ID. If you do not already have a NY.Gov ID you will need to create an account.)
- By mail: Complete a PDF fillable voter registration form or print the form and complete by hand. (Note, to ensure the entire form is printed, print on legal size paper or shrink to fit on letter size paper.) Alternatively, to request a registration form be mailed to you, call 1-800-FOR-VOTE or enter your information online. In all cases, the form must be completed, signed, and mailed to your county board of elections (county boards are listed on the form).
- In person: This can be done at your county board of elections or at any NYS agency-based voter registration center. If you are residing in Ithaca, visit the Tompkins County Board of Elections; in Geneva, visit the Ontario County Board of Elections; or in New York City, visit the New York City Board of Elections.
Additionally, NYS voter registration forms are available on the Ithaca campus at the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement (300 Kennedy Hall) and on the New York City Weill Cornell Medicine campus at the Samuel J. Wood Library & C.V. Starr Biomedical Information Center (1300 York Avenue).
Deadlines:
For NYS voter-related deadlines – including voter registration, change of address, change of party enrollment, and voting by absentee ballot – visit the NYS Board of Elections webpage.
Polling site locations:
If you are registered to vote in NYS, you may search for your early voting and election day polling site location(s) on the NYS Board of Elections webpage. Most Cornell students who live on the Ithaca campus can utilize the on-campus polling site located inside the Robert Purcell Community Center at 107 Jessup Road, to vote on election day. (Early voting polling sites in Tompkins County are located off campus.)
Registration:
Out-of-NYS students and other members of the Cornell community who wish to register to vote in their home state (or graduating students needing to update their voter registration address or re-register with the state of their new residence) may do so by:
- Completing the National Mail Voter Registration Form and mailing it to a state or local elections office for processing (see state-specific instructions included in the form for additional information). To request a printed version of the form, contact the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (866-747-1471; clearinghouse@eac.gov).
- Visiting their home state’s elections website and following instructions on how to register to vote (or update voter registration information) in that state. Visit the U.S. Election Assistance Commission webpage, to search for your home state’s website.
Absentee ballot:
Once registered in your home state, you may request an absentee ballot. Some states allow you to request an absentee ballot online, while others require the request be submitted by mail. For information on your home state’s requirements, and/or to generate an absentee ballot request form (after which you will receive mailing instructions and deadline information), visit the Cornell Votes/Andrew Goodman Foundation webpage. (Note, some states require absentee ballots be requested and returned well before election day so it is important to review state-specific deadlines.)
Polling site locations:
To vote in person in your home state, use the polling place locator to find your polling site.
Cornell Votes, a non-partisan, student-led effort to increase civic engagement, can help all eligible students engage with the electoral process – from registration and requesting absentee ballots, to early voting and finding in-person polling places.
Additional Resources
For information related to federal and statewide elections, in addition to local elections for the 100 largest U.S. cities by populations, visit Ballotpedia. And for more information, both specific to voter registration as well as to general governmental information, visit the below websites.