What can a voter do if for whatever reason, you encounter difficulty casting your vote today? Below are some suggestions, in order of urgency:
(1) First, verify that you’re at the correct polling place. If the election inspectors say your name is not in the poll book, tell them your address and find out whether you are trying to vote in the right place. A common reason for not showing up in a precinct’s book is simply having gone to the wrong place.
2) Second, you can always demand to vote by “affidavit” ballot. Affidavit ballots look a lot like absentee ballots, and essentially just are a version of the ballot you would use on the machines, but on which you swear an oath that you are who you say you are, and that you believe you are entitled to vote. This may sound scary, but isn‘t really. The downside to affidavit ballots, as opposed to voting on the machines, is that there is a chance your vote will be rejected, as the Election Board and campaigns can potentially challenge its validity.
3) As a last resort, you can seek a court order which requires poll inspectors to let you vote on the machines at your polling place. To arrange to see Judge Mott (who, per Democratic election commissioner Virginia Martin, will be on duty today), call 518-267-3136 or visit the County Courthouse located on the City park near 4th and Allen Streets in Hudson.
4) Or, you can call or visit the Columbia County Board of Elections at (518) 828-3115 to describe the problem, and see what they advise before taking any of these other steps.
