Everything You Need To Know To Vote In The Midterm Election
The 2022 midterm election is upon us and everything you need to know to cast your vote in this year's election is below.
Election time is upon us again and it's just about time for all of the political ads and signs to go away, but before that can happen, we have to get to election day.
Election day in the United States is always on the Tuesday after the 2nd Monday in November and has been this way since 1845 when the 28th Congress amended the rules. This year's election is considered a midterm election and is scheduled for Tuesday, November 8th.
What Is A Midterm Election?
According to the United States Senate, a Midterm Election is a congressional election that does not happen at the same time as a Presidential election.
Every two years one third of the Senate’s members are either elected (or reelected) or vacate the seat at the end of the term. When this biennial contest does not coincide with a presidential election, it is called a “midterm election.” Such elections often receive less attention than presidential contests, but midterm elections have influenced national politics and predicted major turning points in U.S. political history.
-United States Senate
Since the Presidential Election is every 4 years, that means the midterm election is the one that happened midway through the President's term.
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What Else Is Important About This Election?
In addition to the elections for the US Senate and the US House of Representatives, there are several other New York State offices up to be elected this year.
- New York State Governor
- New York State Lieutenant Governor
- New York State Comptroller
- New York State Attorney General
- Justice(s) of the New York State Supreme Court
- Member of the New York State Assembly
- New York State Senator
Also in Buffalo and Western New York, there are numerous other offices up for election this year including The Buffalo Public School Board, city and town judges, and more. You can find a complete list of every office that's set to be elected in Erie County right here.
What Do You Need To Know For The Mid-Term Election Day
- Primary Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
- Voting polls and locations all across New York State open at 6 a.m. and will stay open until 9 p.m.
- The voting polls will allow everyone who is in line to vote at 9 p.m. and they will remain fully staffed until everyone has cast their vote
- 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. You can also drop it off at your local Board of Elections office.
- When you go vote, you have to 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 right here.
- If you live in Erie or Niagara County you can also check their local voter look-up tools here for Erie County and here for Niagara County. Other counties also may have a look-up tool, so you can check their websites
- New York does NOT require a Voter ID to vote. You can just give your name and you can sign the voter check-in book. However your ID might may you check in faster, but it is NOT a requirement.
- If you run into any issues while voting, you can immediately reach out to the local Board of Elections. You can reach the Erie County BOE at 716-858-8891, and the Niagara County BOE at 716-438-4041 or 716-438-4040.
- Also, the Office of the New York Attorney General would also like to hear about any issues you run into, you can find their Election Hotline Tool 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 Delano Roosevelt