Down to the Wire, Pelham: Register to Vote by Friday

PELHAM, NY — It's time. If you've been procrastinating about registering to vote in New York, well here you are at the deadline, Oct. 14, for all three ways: online, by mail or in-person.

Here are handy tips for registering, changing address, requesting an absentee ballot, or checking your polling place. Get on it!

First, if you forget whether you're registered or not — maybe you've sat out a few cycles — you can check here on the New York State Voter Registration Search. Once you look yourself up, you'll also see a link to the Poll Locator Search so you know where to head on Nov. 8.

You can also call 1-866-868-3692 if you prefer to hear whether you're registered. Once you look yourself up, you'll also see a link to the Poll Locator Search so you know where to head on Nov. 8.

Now. If you know you're not registered:

The first way to register to vote is by doing so online. That's done through the Department of Motor Vehicles, so you can head here to sign up for an account on dmv.ny.gov. In order to do so, you'll need a New York driver's license, permit or non-driver identification card, your zip code and the last four digits of your social security number. Once you have your DMV account, or if you already had one, sign in and choose "Register to Vote" and fill out the voter registration form. It's automatically forwarded to the Board of Elections and you should be all set.

You can also register by mail. First, you'll need to head to the Board of Elections website right here. Then you'll want to print out the voter registration form. The form is available in English or Spanish. Once it's filled out, you can stick it in an envelope and mail it to the County Board of Elections. To find the address, just click here. Remember, if you're registering by mail, the letter must be postmarked by Oct. 14 and it must arrive to the Board of Elections no later than Oct. 19.

In a related note, if you want to notify the state of a change of address, you'll need to get that to the Board of Elections by Oct. 19. The process is done with the same form you use to register to vote, and can be done online or sent to the same location.

BTW, the requirements to register to vote are as follows:

• be a United States citizen;
• be 18 years old by Dec. 31 of the year in which you file the form (note: you must be 18 years old by the date of the general, primary or other election in which you want to vote);
• live at your present address at least 30 days before an election;
• not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction and;
• not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court;
• not claim the right to vote elsewhere

Here are four other important dates in this crazy election cycle:

To vote absentee: your request for an absentee ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 1 if you're applying by mail and by Nov. 7 if you're applying in person. Your absentee ballot must be postmarked by Nov. 7 and received by Nov. 15.

If you need more information on who to vote for, try clicking around on the internet. It's been pretty widely covered.

Useful info for that:

LWV Offers Non-Partisan Info on the 53 Races on Westchester

Photo credit: Lettawren via Flickr