You have a few choices:

• You can download a form online at the NY State Board of Elections

• You can register online at the NY State Board of Elections

• You can check your local post office or county Board of Election office to pick up a copy of the form

An absentee ballot can make second home voting easy. Voters can have an absentee ballot sent to their primary residence and vote by mail. Absentee ballots can be obtained at the Board of Elections, or online at https://www.elections.ny.gov/votingabsentee.html.

Remember, if you vote by absentee ballot, you must apply for an absentee ballot every year. You can find the Board of Elections office in your county at https://www.elections.ny.gov/countyboards.html.

Here’s the data: in key portions of target swing districts in New York State, second homes make up from 10-50% of all housing stock. A large number of the second home owners have their primary residences in Manhattan and Brooklyn, both of which are overwhelmingly Democratic. By contrast, in 2022, Democrats elsewhere in New York State lost four seats in the House of Representatives by fewer than 10,000 votes each (the closest one was only 3,000+ votes) and held onto another seat by just over 2,000 votes.

If just a small percentage of Democratic second-home owners in New York register to vote where they have second homes in target swing districts (NY Congressional Districts 1, 3, 4, 17 and 19), they will play a key role in helping the Democratic party flip the House.

New York State draws potential jurors from five different sources: the Departments of Motor Vehicles, Labor, Social Services, Taxation and Finance, and Board of Elections. So, you could be called for jury service at either your primary or second home address, depending on which source is being utilized. Jury service in one NYS jurisdiction counts as service in other NYS jurisdictions, so you would not not be at risk of being called for jury duty twice.

Only primary residences are eligible for STAR. Meanwhile, a NY voter is permitted to vote from a home that is not a primary residence. So, a change in voter registration should not affect eligibility for a STAR exemption. Note: NYS does state that one factor which may help determine whether a property is your primary residence is voting, so -- if you exercise your right to vote from your second home -- you may need to provide other proof of your primary residence in connection wtih your STAR exemption.

Even though people can and do register to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV records and Board of Elections records are different and separate. Your voter address doesn’t have to match the one on your driver’s license.

Tenants in rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments or lofts should consider their particular circumstances when deciding where to register. While in NY voter registration is not proof of primary residence, it could become an issue in a dispute with a landlord.

The NY Democrats Voting Hotline can help answer your questions and/or get issues resolved. They can be reached at: 1-844-NY-VOTES.

If you re-register to vote where you have your second home, you can switch back to vote from your other home, so long as you have 'legitimate, significant and continuing attachments' to your homes where you are registering to vote.  A home does not have to be your principal residence for you to vote there.