To vote by absentee, you must be at least one of the following:
You may download the Absentee Ballot Request form from the document list below, call our office to request an application by mail, or you may apply online using the Ballot Request Application portal: https://ballotapplication.elections.ny.gov/home/absentee.
IMPORTANT: Ballot Request Applications sent by mail or electronic means must be received by the Board of Elections at least ten days prior to the election, per new State legislation. You may apply in person up to the day before Election Day.
Completed mail ballots must be postmarked by the day of the election or returned in person to the Tioga County Board of Elections Office or Ballot Drop Box at the Health and Human Services Building, 1062 State Route 38, Owego, NY 13827.
For more detailed information and deadlines on how to request and return a mail ballot, click here.
If you have been issued a mail ballot, you may check the status of your ballot here: voterlookup.elections.ny.gov
Ballot Cures
There are certain errors or problems that can occur when a voter completes a ballot envelope. Many of these errors or problems are curable by means of filing a cure statement with your board of elections. If your ballot envelope has a curable defect, you will receive a notice from the board of elections.
Due to a change in law, New York State voters are no longer permitted to cast a ballot on a voting machine if they have already been issued an early mail, accessible, or absentee ballot for that election. Voters who have already been issued a ballot can still vote in person using an affidavit ballot. The affidavit ballot will be kept separate until the election is completed. Election officials will verify whether the voter’s early mail, accessible, or absentee ballot has been received. If the voter’s ballot has been received, the affidavit ballot will not be counted. If the voter’s ballot has not been received, the affidavit ballot will be counted.
If a voter requests a second early mail, accessible, or absentee ballot, any previously issued ballot that is returned by the voter will be set aside unopened to provide the voter a chance to return the second ballot, unless the first ballot has already been opened. If both ballots are received before the return deadline, the ballot with the later postmark date is accepted and any other ballots that have been received are rejected, unless the first ballot has already been opened. If a voter submits more than one timely ballot and cast an affidavit ballot, the last received ballot, either submitted in person during the election or by mail within the absentee return deadline, will be canvassed.
