NYC Election Guide for Nov. 8: Where and When to Vote, How to Report Polling Problems, Etc.

UPDATE: Click here to stay abreast of all the polling problems reported in your neighborhood Tuesday.

NEW YORK, NY — Yes, the election you never thought would come has finally arrived — well, almost, depending on when you read this. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. You probably knew that, and you were probably already planning to vote. But that doesn't mean you're ready to join in our nation's democracy.

Patch breaks down all you need to know about the election: local races, polling places, predictions and even how to file complaints about issues at polling places.

When to vote

Polling places are open in New York City from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. No exceptions. And if you get in line before 9 p.m. you must be allowed to vote.

By the way, you can double check to make sure you're registered to vote on the Board of Elections site or by calling 1-866-868-3692.

Where to vote

Contrary to a popular scam floating around social media, you cannot vote by text or online. If you haven't mailed in an absentee ballot — it was due Nov. 1 — you better head to your local polling place on Tuesday. NYC offers a very easy Polling Locator online. Just type in your street address and zip code and they'll tell you where to vote.

Once you've typed in your address and selected it, the Board of Elections will not only show you your polling place in large letters (with a Google Map) at the top, they'll also show you what races you are eligible to vote in.

Most importantly, write down your Election and Assembly District. It's at the top of the list of "Political Subdivisions" (none of the other ones — Judicial District, Congressional District, etc. — need to be written down). Write it down and bring it with you. When you show up to the polling place, this is how you'll know which table to go to in order to get your ballot and make your vote.

Problems voting?

First, the polling place workers are all volunteers, so please try to remember to be patient even if there's some problems or confusion when you go to vote.

Issues have been limited at the succession of primaries held in the run-up to Tuesday, but there will be a lot more people voting in the general election. Chances are, most of the confusion will come if you don't know your Election and Assembly District. Volunteers located right at the entrance can help you look it up — but you were smart enough to write it down beforehand, right? Of course, you were.

If you're having problems of any kind, call the NYC help line at 866-VOTE-NYC or 212-VOTE-NYC. You can also call the state line, run by the attorney general, at 800-771-7755.

If you're still having issues, call the Board of Elections and tell them what the problem is. There's a general line, but each borough has its own phone number, which a polling worker is obligated to call if there's an issue:

• Manhattan Voter Help Line: 212-886-2100
• Brooklyn Voter Help Line: 718-797-8800
• Queens Voter Help Line: 718-730-6730
• Bronx Voter Help Line: 718-299-9017
• Staten Island Voter Help Line: 718-876-0079

The general line — 866-VOTE-NYC or 212-VOTE-NYC — can be called by anyone, for any and all voting-related questions or problems from anywhere in the city. They'll help you find your polling place, tell you when the polls close, and so on. Ask away.

If inspectors or interpreters are missing, tell workers to call the BOE immediately. Same goes for supplies. A poll worker is responsible for calling if they tell you they've run out of anything.

And, finally, this won't provide you any immediate relief, but you can fill out the comptroller's online form to report problems here.

Who am I voting for anyway?

You're probably well aware of the top of the ticket, and there's a good chance that's what is pulling you to the polling place in the first place. But it's a good idea to take a quick look at the local races you'll be voting on too.

City-wide Races:

President/Vice President of the United States:

• Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)
• Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democrat)
• Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green)
• Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Independent/Libertarian)

United States Senator:

• Chuck Schumer (Democrat, incumbent)
• Wendy Long (Republican)
• Robin Laverne Wilson (Green)
• Alex Merced (Libertarian)

If you follow local politics, you know just how many different politicians there are for every borough, neighborhood and disjointed/gerrymandered region. As mentioned above, when you input your address into the polling locator, you'll also see all the races you're eligible for voting in by clicking on "Ballot Information."

Key Local Races:

We can't preview every local race in the entire city, but it's important to know a few of the key ones and whether you'll be voting in them on Tuesday. Remember, Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn are especially Democratic. It's for that reason the primaries were so important. There are expected to be very few contested races in much of the city, with the democrats usually winning.

All of the U.S. Congressional races are on the table:

Districts 1-4: not in the city
District 5 (Eastern Queens/Jamaica): Gregory Meeks (D, incumbent) vs. Michael O'Reilly (R)
District 6 (Northern Queens/Flushing): Grace Meng (D, incumbent) vs. Danniel Mayo (R)
District 7 (Williamsburg/Lower East Side/Sunset Park/Southern Queens): Nydia Velazquez (D, incumbent) vs. Allan Romaguera (R)
District 8 (Fort Greene/Bed-Stuy/Brownsville/Canarsie): Hakeem Jeffries (D, incumbent) vs. Daniel Cavanagh (C)
District 9 (Park Slope/Crown Heights/Lefferts Garden): Yvette Clark (D, incumbent) vs. Alan Bellone (C)
District 10 (Upper West Side/West Village/Borough Park): Jerry Nadler (D, incumbent) vs. Philip Rosenthal (R)
District 11 (Staten Island/Bay Ridge): Dan Donovan (R, incumbent) vs. Richard Reichard (D) vs. Hank Bardel (G)
District 12 (Eastern Manhattan/Greenpoint): Carolyn Maloney (D, incumbent) vs. Robert Ardini (R)
District 13 (Upper Manhattan/South Bronx): Adriano Espaillat (D) vs. Tony Evans (R) vs. Daniel Vila (G)
District 14 (Eastern Bronx/Astoria): Joe Crowley (D, incumbent) vs. Frank Spotorno (R)
District 15 (Bronx): Jose Serrano (D, incumbent) vs. Alejandro Vega (R) vs. Eduardo Ramirez (C)
District 16 (North Bronx/Westchester): Eliot Engel (D, incumbent) vs. Derickson Lawrence (PC)
Districts 17-27: not in the city

State Senate Races:

The State Senate makeup is crucially important to state politics, and there are plenty of close races, but the problem is they are all outside the city, mostly in upstate New York and on Long Island. Republicans currently have a majority, due to their hold on northern New York. The city will see at least one new state senator though.

Senate District 31 (Upper Manhattan)
Espaillat vacated his state senate seat to run for — and almost assuredly win — a spot in the U.S. Congress representing District 13. Marisol Alcantara, a former aid to Espaillat, won a tight race in the Democratic primary race and is expected to win the general election. Republican Melinda Crump and Conservative John Toro are running against Alcantara.

State Assembly District Races:

A host of State Assembly races are totally unopposed, but here are a handful of noteworthy races in the city which do have multiple candidates.

State Assembly District 44 (Park Slope/Windsor Terrace/Flatbush)
James Brennan announced earlier this year he would retire, so members of these Brooklyn neighborhoods will have a new representative in the assembly for the first time since 1984. Democrat Robert C. Carroll, a member of Community Board 7, is running against Republican Glenn Nocera, president of the Brooklyn Tea Party.

State Assembly District 60 (Brownsville/East New York)
Democrat Charles Barron, who served in the City Council from 2001 to 2013 before being succeeded by his wife, Inez, was elected to this spot in 2014. The lifetime activist is running for re-election for this seat for the first time against Conservative Ernest Johnson. After winning 94 percent of the vote in 2014, Barron is a pretty safe bet to be re-elected.

State Assembly District 65 (Lower East Side/Chinatown/FiDi)
Yuh-Line Niou made history during the primary by claiming the seat long held by Sheldon Silver. Niou will be the first Democrat of Asian descent to represent any assembly district in Manhattan. She bested Alice Cancel in the primary, who won a special election to fill Silver's spot just six months earlier. Cancel will run in the general election on the Women's Equality ticket. Republican Bryan Jung and Green Party candidate Manny Cavaco are also in the race. Niou has already started acting like the winner, however, appearing at public events and pushing for pieces of legislation.

State Assembly District 73 (Upper East Side/Midtown East)
Democrat Dan Quart is running for re-election against Republican challenger Rebecca Harary. Quart has served as Assemblyman since winning a special election in 2011. Quart won by more than 30 percentage points in the 2012 and 2014 elections. Harary, officially on the Republican and Stop de Blasio tickets, has worked in non-profits throughout her career and founded The Propel Network, which assists Jewish women with finding careers.

Court Races:

We're not going to pretend to know the platforms of judicial candidates, but everyone in the city will be voting for Justices of the Supreme Court — 1st Judicial District in Manhattan, 2nd Judicial District in Brooklyn, etc. — and Civil Court Judges in your county. Should you want to be an informed voter though, go ahead and read up on all the candidates on Ballotopedia.

Feel like an informed voter yet? Hopefully so.

Now you can now go forth and vote on Nov. 8 and now how, when and who you're actually voting for.

Photo: Flickr user Lauren Manning via creative commons