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Due dates adjusted for mailing absentee ballots

An executive order will give residents additional time to mail their absentee ballots for school budgets and school board seats.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that will allow school districts to extend the deadline in which they can receive the ballots. In order for ballots to be counted, they can be accepted by hand delivery through 5 p.m. on Tuesday and received by mail through June 16 by the school district.

“No ballots for such election shall be accepted by the clerk of the school district or designee of the trustees or school board after 5 p.m. on June 9, 2020 except those received by mail in accordance with this provision,” the order states. “Any receptacle used for hand delivery of absentee ballots in such election shall be closed and removed at 5 p.m. on June 9, 2020; The ballots therein shall remain unopened pending delivery of mailed ballots, and shall be removed and canvassed after 5 p.m. on June 16, 2020.”

The governor’s legislation also includes the extension of the deadline used to submit absentee ballots for the June 23 primary until the day of the election. To be counted, those ballots must be postmarked by June 23. Cuomo had previously issued executive orders allowing all New Yorkers to vote absentee in that election and ensuring every New Yorker registered to vote receives a postage-paid absentee ballot application in the mail.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world, and while we are making great progress and the numbers keep going down, no New Yorker should have to choose between their health and their right to vote,” Cuomo said in a release. “Extending the deadline to submit absentee ballots builds on our previous Executive Orders to make it easier for New Yorkers to vote absentee in the upcoming primary election and it will help to increase voter participation as we continue to fight this virus.”

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