This coming Friday, Oct. 9, is the deadline to register to vote in time for the Nov. 3 election.

If you registered to vote previously and have not changed your address since then, you should be all set to vote. If you have not yet registered, however, or have moved since the last time you did so, you must register with your county’s board of elections. That means getting your hands on a New York state voter registration form — they are available at many government offices, post offices and the state Board of Elections website at www.elections.ny.gov/votingregister.html — fill it out and submit it to your home county’s board of elections, either in person or by mail.

Friday, Oct. 9 is the deadline to submit a completed new-voter registration form in person, and also the postmark deadline if you mail in your form.

Wednesday, Oct. 14 is the deadline for county boards of elections receive mailed registration forms. Also, those only changing the address on their previous voter registration have until Oct. 14 to do so in person, or have it received in the mail by the county board of elections.

To vote in New York state, you must:

¯ be a United States citizen

¯ be 18 years old (you may pre-register at 16 or 17 but cannot vote until you are 18)

¯ be a resident of New York state and the county, city or village for at least 30 days before the election

¯ not be in prison or on parole for a felony conviction (unless parolee pardoned or restored rights of citizenship)

¯ not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court

¯ not claim the right to vote elsewhere.

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Contact info

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¯ Franklin County Board of Elections, 355 West Main St., Suite 161, Malone, NY 12953-1823; 518-481-1663 or -1664; boe@franklincony.org; countyfranklin.digitaltowpath.org:10078/content/Departments/View/3

¯ Essex County Board of Elections, 7551 Court St., P.O. Box 217, Elizabethtown, NY 12932; 518-873-3474; elections@essexcountyny.gov; www.co.essex.ny.us/wp/board-of-elections

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Voting decisions

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Once you are registered, you must decide whom to vote for — for president, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, state Senate and Assembly members, and some local offices — but you must also choose how to vote.

You can do so the traditional way, in person on Election Day. Polls will be open at regular local locations from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. For a lost of polling places, check with your county board of elections.

You can also vote absentee or do early voting.

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Absentee voting

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Absentee ballot voting is more popular now, amid the coronavirus pandemic. One can request an absentee ballot from one’s county board of elections or from the state Board of Elections online.

The state Board of Elections has created a one-stop absentee ballot web portal that will allow all registered voters to apply for an absentee ballot simply, pursuant to new legislation. The web portal is live at www.elections.ny.gov/votingabsentee.html.

Oct. 27 is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot online, by email, fax or to postmark an application or letter of application by mail. The last day to apply in person for an absentee ballot is Nov. 2, the day before Election Day.

After applying for and receiving an absentee ballot, it must be filled out properly and submitted by Election Day, Nov. 3, either postmarked by mail or in person at one’s local board of elections or any poll site. Mailed absentee ballots must be received by the county board of elections by Nov. 10.

Despite these deadlines, the state Board of Elections warns people that the U.S. Postal Service has advised it cannot guarantee timely delivery of ballots if they are applied for less than 15 days before the election (Monday, Oct. 19) or if completed ballots are submitted within seven days of the election (Tuesday, Oct. 27). Voters who mail in their ballots on Election Day should be aware of the posted collection times on collection boxes and at the Postal Service’s retail facilities, and that ballots entered after the last posted collection time will not be postmarked until the following business day.

Franklin County will have an absentee ballot drop box available today — Saturday, Oct. 3 — in Saranac Lake from 9 a.m. to noon at the Harrietstown Town Hall, 39 Main St., and from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Tupper Lake Town Hall, 120 Demars Blvd. County boards of elections also accept absentee ballots in person during their open hours on weekdays at their offices in Elizabethtown and Malone, or at early voting stations in Lewis and Malone.

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Early voting, Essex County

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Early voting in Essex County will be held at the Essex County Public Safety Building, 702 Stowerville Road, Lewis, for nine consecutive days before Election Day.

¯ Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

¯ Sunday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

¯ Monday, Oct. 26, noon to 8 p.m.

¯ Tuesday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

¯ Wednesday, Oct. 28, noon to 8 p.m.

¯ Thursday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

¯ Friday, Oct. 30, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

¯ Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

¯ Sunday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Early voting, Franklin County

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Early voting in Franklin County will be held at the Board of Elections office, located on the first floor at the Franklin County Courthouse in Malone, for nine consecutive days before Election Day.

¯ Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

¯ Sunday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

¯ Monday, Oct. 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

¯ Tuesday, Oct. 27, noon to 8 p.m.

¯ Wednesday, Oct. 28, noon to 8 p.m.

¯ Thursday, Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

¯ Friday, Oct. 30, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

¯ Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

¯ Sunday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.