More About Dual Residency Voting in New York State

Why Should I Vote Upstate?

There are about 18,000 dual residents in New York’s 19th Congressional District.

The dual resident vote is significant in all of our races, which are often won by a handful of votes.

Get information on re-registering to vote upstate.

New York’s 19th Congressional District

Frequently Asked Questions

1. If I re-register to vote at my second residence address, can I also vote from my primary residence address?

No. You may choose where you want to vote, but you must choose! You may only vote in one location.

2. What if my second residence is a rental?

If renters couldn’t vote, most of New York City would be disenfranchised! 

As long as your second residence is a year-round rental, you have the same voting rights as an owner.

3. What if I need to vote by early mail?

You may vote early by mail – no excuse required! To have a ballot mailed to you, go to ballotapplication.elections.ny.gov/home/earlymail no later than 10 days prior to the election to have a ballot mailed to you. You can also get the form from the Board of Elections. 

Contact us at info@columbiacountydemocrats.org for more information.

4. What if the address on my driver’s license is different from my voting address?

Even though people can and do register to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV records are separate from those of the Board of Elections. 

Your voter address doesn’t have to match the one on your driver’s license.

5. Will my STAR property tax exemption be affected?

No. Only primary residences are eligible for STAR. Your primary residence stays the same no matter what your voter address is.

6. What about jury duty?

New York State draws from five different agencies (Departments of Motor Vehicles, Labor, Social Services, Taxation and Finance, and the Board of Elections) to find potential jurors, so you might be called to serve at either address. Note that service in one jurisdiction counts as service in other NYS jurisdictions.

7. Do I have to inform my previous local Board of Elections office that I’ve changed my registration to another location?

No. The Board of Elections handles that.

8. Can my landlord use my voter registration address to claim that my rental apartment isn’t my primary residence?

No. NYS gives voters the right to register at their second residences, so voter registration is not legal proof of primary residence. 

However, if you live in a rent-stabilized, rent-controlled, or subsidized apartment or loft or other place of residence, you should consider your individual circumstances before changing your registration.

Legal Precedents for Voters

The law is crystal clear. Dual residence voters in New York State have the right to choose where they want to vote. They do not have to vote where they maintain their primary residence.

In Ferguson v. McNab, 60 N.Y.2d 598 (N.Y. 1983), New York’s highest court affirmed a woman's right to vote from her Huntington, Long Island weekend home even though she lived elsewhere five days a week and held that a person having two residences “may choose one to which she has legitimate, significant and continuing attachments as her residence for purposes of the Election Law.”  

Later, Willkie v. Board of Elections, 55 A.D.3d 1088 (N.Y. App. Div. 2008) reinstated weekend homeowners who had been stricken from the active voter rolls and reaffirmed that this principle protects typical weekender/country homeowners who choose to register and vote from their country homes, saying, “Election Law does not preclude a person from having two residences and choosing one for election purposes provided he or she has “legitimate, significant and continuing attachments” to that residence.