ITHACA, N.Y. –– Election Day is less than 24 hours away and many voters are now wondering whether their mail-in ballots have been received, and what to do if they haven’t been.
According to the Tompkins County Board of Elections, the only way to find out if your ballot has been received is by calling the office at (607) 274-5522 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. or by emailing the BOE here.
New York State requires your ballot be both postmarked by Nov. 3, and received by the BOE by Nov. 10. Voters mailing in their ballots on Election Day be aware –– ballots entered after the last posted collection time will not be postmarked until the following business day.
Voters can also bring their ballots to the Tompkins County BOE office, located at 128 E. Buffalo St., Ithaca, or a county polling place no later than Nov. 3 by 9 p.m. All county polling locations can be found here.
For those not wanting to risk having their ballot missed, you can still vote in person on Nov. 3. Even if you request or cast and return an absentee ballot, you may still go to the polls. NYS Election Law recognizes that plans change, and the Board of Elections is required to check the poll book before canvassing any absentee ballot. If the voter comes to the poll site, on Election Day or during early voting and votes in person, the absentee ballot is set aside and not counted.
All Tompkins County polling places will be open between 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters must go to their assigned polling place during those hours. A map of the City of Ithaca’s voting districts and their corresponding polling places can be found here. All other towns and villages in Tompkins can find their districts and polling place maps here. Voters will sign the electronic poll book, get their ballot, then mark and cast it.