Mail-in voting has never been more accessible in New York. It’s also never been so under threat.
On March 31, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the US Postal Service to refuse to send mail ballots to voters not verified through a federal citizenship database that doesn’t yet exist. New York Attorney General Letitia James is among 23 attorneys general suing to block the executive order, calling it “yet another attempt to disenfranchise voters.”
Since then, the states won—and a separate lawsuit has expanded their victory nationwide. A federal judge in Massachusetts, Indira Talwani, blocked the order’s key provisions for the 23 suing states and Washington, DC on June 25, ruling the federal government has no legal authority to use the US Postal Service (USPS) to control who gets a mail ballot. On Aug. 11, she expanded that block nationwide, barring USPS from doing further work to implement the order.
The Trump administration isn’t backing down. The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to stay the injunction and let the order take effect before November. The case is now sitting on the Court’s emergency docket, undecided.
This is not Trump’s first attempt—a similar order last year was largely blocked in court.
As of today, the key provisions in the order remain blocked for the Nov. 3 general election—but a Supreme Court ruling could still change that before Election Day. So, despite the legal fight, New Yorkers should continue using early mail voting as usual until further notice.
With Nov. 3 about 12 weeks out, here’s everything you need to know about voting early by mail.
How to request your ballot
In 2023, New York passed the Early Mail Voter Act, opening mail-in voting to any registered voter.
Before requesting your ballot, first confirm whether you’re registered to vote here. From there, you can request an early mail ballot online or in person at your local county board of elections. Once your application is received and processed, your ballot will be mailed to you, and it can be tracked here.
Key deadlines for the general election
The voter registration deadline for the general election is Oct. 24. Early voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1. Mail ballot applications must be received by Oct. 24 if submitting online or by mail, or by Nov. 2 if applying in person. Ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by the board no later than Nov. 10.
“Early and mail-in voting help those of us who lead busy lives and can’t afford the time off to spend a day at a polling site on Election Day, whether you work multiple jobs to make rent, are a student swamped with class projects, or a parent juggling work and family,” said Louie Sawi, coordinator of Let NY Vote, a nonpartisan coalition of civil rights and grassroots organizations that advocates for expanding ballot access in New York. “[It’s] crucial to making our democracy work.”
Trump himself cast a mail-in ballot in a Florida special election in March, as did first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump, according to Palm Beach County voting records. That hasn’t stopped him from claiming mailed ballots are ripe for fraud, a claim that has been repeatedly debunked. There is currently no evidence of widespread voting fraud in any area.
The coalition of states has, for now, succeeded in blocking the order—but the Trump administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court means the outcome for November still isn’t settled.
In the meantime, New York’s voting system remains operational.
Ready to request your ballot? Apply online, then track it once it’s mailed with the state’s ballot tracker.
