Everything You Need To Know To Vote In New York’s Special Election

Now that we're more than 1 full month into 2026, it's time for New Yorkers in a few different areas of the state to vote in the first of three elections this year. The election that is happening on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, is a special election, in more ways than one.

Since a few members of the New York State Legislature took on new jobs in 2026, there are seats in the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly that need to be filled. To accomplish that, Governor Hochul called for a special election to fill vacant seats in the 47th and 61st New York Senate Districts and the 36th and 74th New York Assembly Districts that were left open when Zohran Mamdani, Sean Ryan, Harvey Epstein, and Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

Now, after a few weeks of preparation and ten days of early voting, Amherst businessman Dan Gagliardo and Chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party Jeremy Zellner are set to go head-to-head to replace Ryan in representing New York's 61st Senate District, which covers Buffalo, Grand Island, Kenmore, Tonawanda, and part of Amherst.

We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.
-Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States

What Exactly Are We Voting For In This Special Election?

You can find a complete list of all the offices that are available during this special election here on the New York State Board of Elections website, but in summary, four legislative seats are available across the Empire State. In Buffalo and Western New York, Dan Gagliardo and Jeremy Zellner are facing each other.

The winner of this race will fill the 61st Senate District Seat for the remainder of 2026, and will need to run again this summer if they want to retain the seat in 2027-28.

What Do You Need To Know For New York State’s Special Election Day

• NY's Special Election For New York State Senate and Assembly is Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
• Voting polls and locations in the four (4) Legislative Districts open at 6 a.m. and remain open until 9 p.m.
• The voting polls will allow everyone in line to vote at 9 p.m. and remain fully staffed until everyone votes.
• If you don't think you will have enough time to vote on election day because of work, New York State Law requires your employer to give you up to 2 hours of paid time off if you do not have “sufficient time to vote.”
• It's too late to request a mail-in ballot, but if you already have one, you can drop it off at any voting location or at your local Board of Elections office.
• When you go to vote, you must vote at the polling place assigned to you.
  • Because of the 2020 US Census, your voting location may have changed. If you don’t know where that is, you can check the NYS Elections Voter Lookup Tool here.
  • If you live in Erie County, you can also check the local voter look-up tools here.
• New York does NOT require a Voter ID to vote. You can just give your name and sign the voter check-in book.
  • Your ID might help you check in faster, but it is NOT required.
• If you encounter any issues while voting, you can immediately contact the local Board of Elections. The Erie County BOE can be reached at 716-858-8891. 
• The Office of the New York Attorney General would also like to hear about any issues you encounter: their Election Hotline Tool is here.

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States & 44th Governor of New York