This coming election season, the Long Island University Athletics Department is committed to ensuring all eligible student-athletes, coaches, and staff members are informed, registered voters. As members of the Northeast Conference taking part of the #NECVotes campaign leading up to Election Day on November 3rd, we look to encourage all members of our Athletics community to register to vote, learn about the issues, and become a part of an engaged citizenry.
The NCAA Division I Council recently passed legislation stating that student athletes will not practice, compete, or otherwise take part in other countable athletically related activities (CARA), on the first Tuesday after November 1st ever year, including this coming Election Day, on November 3rd.
We have curated resources below to help everyone become registered to vote, learn how to vote if they are from a state that is not New York, and how to learn about the issues this upcoming season.
REGISTER TO VOTE
Check Your Registration Status
Register to Vote
Registration Deadlines for All States
Find your Polling Place
New York Voter Registration Deadlines
Online: October 9th
By Mail: Postmarked by October 9th
In Person: October 9th
To be a Registered Voter in the State of New York you must:
- Be a United States Citizen
- Be 18 years old by December 31 of the year in which you file your registration form
- Be a resident of New York 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
(
Source)
WAYS TO VOTE IN NEW YORK
- In-Person: Check your New York State poll site here; when you know where to vote, you can show up with your New York State DMV number or Social Security number; if election officials cannot match these numbers, you can submit a current and valid photo ID, current utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck, or a government document that shows name and address; if you don’t have an acceptable form of ID, you may vote by affidavit ballot.
- Absentee Ballots: every state has mail-in voting, but some allow you to take place only in certain circumstances; due to COVID-19, some states are loosening these circumstances and your state election office has rules specific to where you are from; if your state doesn’t automatically send you an absentee ballot or a form to fill out to request one, you can navigate here to complete an absentee ballot request for your state.
- Check here for a state-by-state rundown of specific rules.
LEARN ABOUT THE CANDIDATES AND ISSUES
Aside from exercising your right to vote during every election, your duty as an American citizen is to vote as an informed citizen. Included in this is knowing what is going to be on your ballot, who is running for each position, and why you are voting the way that you are voting. See below for ways to become more informed:
- Know what’s on your ballot – enter your address here to see what may be on your ballot. This can include the President of the United States, the United States House of Representatives and Senate, State House of Representatives and Senate, Ballot Measures, Attorneys Generals and more!
- Know who is on your ballot – once you know who will be your options on your ballot, do your research aside from their political affiliation. This includes visiting their campaign websites to learn about their policy stances, reading a wide array of news sources about the candidates, and even watching debates.
- Watch the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates – one of the easiest ways to know what our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are running on is to watch the remaining televised debates. The upcoming debates are below:
- Wednesday, October 5th: Vice Presidential Debate
- Thursday, October 15th: Second Presidential Debate
- Thursday, October 22nd: Third Presidential Debate
- Consume a wide range of news sources – make sure you know what is going on in our country, and where your candidates lean on each issue. In order to do this, you need to consume a wide array of news sources. Don’t just get your news from one newspaper or television channel, and don’t just read social media for your news. Always double check claims, and get your news from a reputable source.
