People will not go to their school to cast their votes for budget and board members this year.
Instead, the elections, originally scheduled for next Tuesday, will not be done with a trip to the ballot box. Eligible voters in each school district in New York state will receive an absentee ballot and return postage paid envelope as the Covid-19 pandemic method of voting.
Last week school officials around the state sought clarification on how to conduct the vote without having people enter school buildings, which are closed for the remainder of this school year. Here’s how it will work for people to vote on their district’s 2020-21 school budget and candidates for the board of education:
Districts will obtain the list of registered voters from the county Boards of Election in their district boundaries. Anyone who has registered to vote in a non-school election will be covered.
Anyone who is eligible to vote - age 18, a resident of the district and not prohibited from voting in an election - but has never voted before can call the district to be sent an absentee ballot or find the ballot on their district’s website.
People can also register with their county’s Board of Elections by late May to be on the list.
Ballots will be mailed sometime this month. All ballots need to be received back to the proper address given in the packet by 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 9. June 9 has been designated as the new day of school budget votes, although...