Voting Made Easier

This is the first in a series of "weblogs" focusing on noteworthy changes and improvements to voter services and resources, in an effort to promote public awareness and usage.

Your local Board of Elections has been hard at work making changes, both behind the scenes and frontline, that will enhance the voting experience during these difficult times and beyond.

The most visible change is a recently redesigned and vastly improved website.  Go to the official Suffolk County Board of Elections homepage, which is fully incorporated into the county government's website. The previous site, a basic, standalone page created several years ago to assist and educate voters during the transition to electronic voting machines, has been eliminated. Instead, you will now see a simple yet comprehensive, well-organized page that is super-easy to navigate.

The updated site contains a bounty of useful information, including:

• Access to important documents such as voter registration forms and applications for absentee ballots.
• An election schedule for the entire year, with polling dates, deadlines and information about candidates and races.
• A search engine that allows any registered voter to view their profile and verify their electoral district and polling place location.
• An archive of election results dating back to 2002.
• Links to additional resources provided by the New York State Board of Elections that include political calendars, procedures, laws and statutes, announcements, updates, news, official reports and other information relevant to both candidates and voters.

Future blog posts will discuss topics such as: voting by absentee ballot, election calendar changes and procedural revisions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, early voting, voter registrations and deadlines, technological advances and changes at polling places.

Hal Mintz, Reference Librarian, Adult Services & Polling Inspector (D-Huntington), Suffolk County Board of Elections