Window To Get Absentee Ballot For School Budget Vote Is Closing

MAMARONECK, NY — Registered voters who don't want to go to the polls in person, because of coronavirus concerns, still have a short time to apply for an absentee ballot.

The Mamaroneck Union Free School District has affirmed that concerns about contracting COVID-19 is a valid reason for requesting an absentee ballot for the upcoming school budget election. Voters should check "temporary illness or physical disability” in section 1 of the application if the coronavirus pandemic is their reason for voting by mail.

It is too late to mail a request for an absentee ballot, but if the application is brought into the district clerk's office, a ballot will be handed to the registered voter directly or the person authorized on the voter's behalf. A ballot may not be given to anyone other than to the voter or the person authorized by the voter to pick up the ballot on their behalf.

The last day an absentee ballot may be mailed to a registered voter is Tuesday, May 11. Absentee ballot applications must be received on or before then for a ballot to be mailed. Registered voters, however, may still come to the district clerk's office for an absentee ballot up until 4 p.m. on May 17.

The proposed budget is $144,941,319, with a 1.63 percent increase over the 2020-21 spending package. School officials said the tax levy will increase by 1.99 percent if the budget is approved by voters. The district says the increase is among the lowest in the region. The annual increase in property taxes will amount to an average of $316 per homeowner.

Three open board of education seats for three-year terms are also up for election.

The annual budget vote will be from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 18. Voters can cast ballots at their local elementary school. However, due to construction, the Chatsworth Avenue School polling location will be moved across the street to the Larchmont Avenue Church.

Absentee ballot applications can be found here. The district clerk's office is available to answer voter's questions at 914-220-3007.