Your vote counts.
“There is not a reason for you not to vote,” said Rae Rohfeld, co-president of League of Women Voters of Syracuse Metropolitan Area. It encourages voters to use their right to vote.
Oct. 12, 2013, is the deadline to register to vote in the fall election. To be eligible to vote, according to the website of the Onondaga County of Elections, voters have to be:
- U.S citizen
- At least 18 years old
- Not in jail or on a parole
- Not registered somewhere else
- Living at voter’s present address for more than 30 days
A voter can download voter registration application request form from website of the county election board and mail it to 1000 Erie Blvd West, Syracuse, New York 13204.
The general election will fall on Nov. 5, 2013, and polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Voters also can find their polling places on the website of the board of elections.
As of Nov. 1, 2012, the county board of elections counted 281,927 active voters – those who have cast a ballot in 2012.
Sometimes registered voters are turned away from the polls if their registration information has not been updated, said Dustin Czarny, the Democratic election commissioner. “Obviously, not being registered to vote at the correct address is the biggest reason why people aren’t allowed to vote,” said Czarny.
For those who can’t get to the polls, they can apply for an absentee ballot. Voters are eligible to vote by absentee ballot if they are sick, go to school in another county and can’t physically get to the polls in their district.
To get an absentee ballot, voters can apply online at the board of elections’ website. They will need to provide the following information:
- Name and date of birth
- The home address where the voter is registered
- The voter’s current address
- The reason for the request — such as being out of town for vacation, having a permanent or temporary medical disability, being caregiver, being detained in jail for an offense other than a felony waiting for a trial.
(Ruth Jingnan Li is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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