Persons serving in the military, along with their spouses and/or dependents, may register as a military voter in New York, entitling them to receive an absentee ballot for all federal, state and local races that they would be otherwise entitled to vote in if they were to go to their assigned polling place based on their New York residence.
Military Voter
Federal Overseas Voter
United States citizens living outside of the United States whose last U.S. residence was in New York, along with their children, may register as a special federal voter in New York, entitling them to receive an absentee ballot for all federal races (President/Vice President, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives) that they would be otherwise entitled to vote in based on your New York address.
Application for Military and Overseas Voting
To register as a new Military or Overseas voter and/or to request an absentee ballot, you must complete a Federal Post Card Application and return it to the Dutchess County Board of Elections. This application will register you (if not already registered) and will also serve as your absentee ballot application for TWO federal general election cycles, unless otherwise noted. Always be sure to update any change of address information.
Applications are available from your Voting Assistance Officer on base, or you can visit either the Federal Voting Assistance Program Website or the Military and Overseas Federal Voting Website for forms and information. On this application, you may state a preference as to how you would like to receive your ballot. You can choose mail, fax or email as a preferred method of transmission.
If you have stated a preference to receive your voting materials by email/online, you will receive an email notification directing you to the State’s online ballot delivery site, to access your ballot.
If you have questions, call the State Board of Elections at 518-473-5086 or the Federal Voter Assistance Program at 1-800-438-8683, or contact your Voting Assistance Officer or US Embassy office.
Returning your Military or Overseas Ballot
Regardless of the method in which you receive your ballot, you must return your ballot to your board of elections by postal mail.
If you have requested your ballot, but have not yet received it, you may use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot and return that to our office.
You can utilize New York’s Military and Overseas Ballot Tracking Website to track when your ballot has been received.