Everything you need to know to be an informed voter.
Important Dates for the November Election | Don't Forget to Vote Nov 4! | 2025 Candidate Forums Recordings | November 2025 Voter Services Report | October 2025 Voter Services Report | September 2025 Voter Services Report | Schenectady Board of Education Candidate Forum | The SAVE Act | Running for Political Office | Voter Publications | How We Elect Our Representatives | Candidate Forum Policy | Links to Local Boards | City Council and Town Board Meetings | Schenectady County Legislature Meetings | State-Wide Politics and Financial Disclosures
Important Dates for the November Election
Registration: Mail-In and Online Registration due October 25, 2025, check status here
Ballot Options: Early Mail Ballot (Oct. 25-Nov. 2); Absentee Ballot (Oct. 25- Nov. 2). Request Ballot here
Early Voting: Early Voting (Oct. 25-Nov. 2); find Early Voting Site here
Election Day Voting: 2025 General Election November 4th, 2025. Check status and find polling site here
Don't Forget to Vote on Nov. 4, General Election Day
Schenectady County Board of Elections Website
Your ballot will have Proposal #1, to allow skiing and related trail facilities on state forest preserve land. Proposal with Pros and Cons, proposal full text .
2025 Candidate Forums Recordings
The LWV of Schenectady County is holding candidate forums for the following muniipalities:
Town of Rotterdam, September 25, view the recording
Town of Glenville, Sept 29, view the recording
Schenectady, October 9, view the recording
Town of Niskayuna, October 16, view the recording
All forums are recorded and will be posted as they become available.
November 2025 Voter Services Report
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On October 20, our League held its last voter registration event before the November election. The League of Women Voters US requires local Leagues to file semi-annual reports on their voter registration activities. The reports cover post general-election activities from November through June and post primary-election activities from June through November. |
Joan Fucillo
Voter Services
October 2025 Voter Services Report
Election season is officially underway: our League is holding candidate forums!
On Thursday, September 25, we held our first forum in Rotterdam. (By the time you read this, our Glenville forum, September 29, will be over. There’s two more in October— Schenectady on the 9th and Niskayuna on the 16th.)
Candidate forums are an essential tool of democracy. The League’s forums are conducted to ensure that the process is fair and respectful and public. At our forums, the audience asks questions by submitting them on index cards during the event or by emailing them in advance. Our guidelines are based on our pledge of nonpartisanship: every candidate has equal time to introduce themselves, to answer questions (each candidate in a race is asked the same questions) and to give a closing statement. Every candidate has an equal shot at having their voice heard.
The Rotterdam forum was packed. Attendees heard from candidates for town clerk, receiver of taxes, county legislature, town justice, town council, and town supervisor. It was a success for the candidates and everyone in attendance. The Daily Gazette published a good article about the forum, but only about the race for town supervisor and a few sentences on the candidates for town council.
Why is that? Maybe it’s because five candidates did not attend: only one of two candidates for town clerk; one of two for receiver of taxes; three of four for county legislature; three of four for town council; and three of four for town justice. The only full slate at the table were the two candidates for town supervisor.
These absences are a bit disturbing and seem to be something of a trend. How does the public get to know their local candidates? Ads, meet-and-greets, getting people to write or post on social media nice—or mean—things about them? And there’s fundraisers—although some are open and some are closed to the public. People running for office instinctively want to control the narrative.
But there’s a problem. Voters trust politicians less than ever. That’s why the direct democracy of a League forum works. Voters see officeholders and would-be officeholders answering their concerns. That helps rebuild some lost trust. We might think about how to communicate to candidates the real advantages of participating in one of the few open forums where constituents get to ask questions, and where all candidates are treated fairly and equally.
Check our website and Facebook page for youtube links to the candidate forums. And visit LWV 2025 Voter Registration Drive Sign Up to sign up for voter registration events. Next up: Schenectady Greenmarket, October 19.
Joan Fucillo
Voter Services
September 2025 Voter Services Report
Please check the sign-up sheet to volunteer: LWV voter registration
The race is on!
On the national front: Redrawing congressional districts.
The margins in Congress are narrow, and two states are in the process of redrawing their congressional maps to favor one political party over the other. And more states may join the fray. Normally, the old maps would be set until the next census (in 2030). But these are not normal times.
Texas’ legislature has voted to accept re-drawn voting maps to shift the makeup of its congressional delegation by five seats. California has an independent redistricting commission but wants to issue new maps, also shifting five seats, to counter the action by Texas. California voters will weigh in on the new maps in November. More states may join fray.
New York doesn’t have that option. Our independent redistricting commission is written into the state constitution, and any amendment would need to pass the state legislature over two consecutive sessions before it could go to the voters, at least a two-year process. Too late for the current round of extreme gerrymandering.
Here in New York: Voting reforms.
However, New York can address voters’ nearly universal dissatisfaction with the political process (Why must I choose between the lesser of two evils? Does my vote even count?) and mitigate the effects of any gerrymandering the state does have. How? By passing legislation to make voting fairer and more equal—by adopting open primaries and ranked-choice voting. LWV NYS supports these voting reforms.
Open primaries allow every registered voter to vote in a primary, whether, or not, they belong to a political party. All candidates are on the ballot; voters choose the one they like best. A larger field of candidates encourages voters to pay more attention to primary contests because they are not bound by their party’s choices; voters not registered with a party are no longer shut out. The top four vote-getters in the primary move on to the general election. Open primaries expand all voters’ options. It encourages people to pay more attention, maybe even show up at the polls. When voters are freed from party strictures, they may be encouraged to learn more about the candidates and decide to vote.
With ranked-choice voting, voters rank each candidate according to their preference, from one to four. Votes are tallied, the candidate with the lowest ranking is eliminated, and the votes are redistributed. The winner is the candidate generally agreed upon by the voters. Ranked-choice voting encourages voters to seriously look at all four candidates, because while their first choice may not win, their second choice may.
Fewer people vote in general elections; even fewer vote in primary races. Instead, citizens are voting with their feet—away from the polls. This is dangerous for our communities and our democracy. The current system is not working. It’s time to do something different.
Volunteers needed:
- · Carrot Festival, Agudat Achim, Niskayuna. Sunday, September 14, 12-2:30 pm
- · National Voter Registration Day, Tuesday, September 16:
- Fulton-Montgomery Community College, 11 am-2 pm
- Price Chopper, Glenville, 3-6 pm
- Price Chopper, Eastern Parkway, 3-6 pm
Please check the sign-up sheet to volunteer for these and other sites: LWV voter registration.
Joan Fucillo, Voter Services
Schenectady Board of Education Candidate Forum
The League of women voters of Schenectady County held a Board of Education candidates forum. In case you missed it or want to see it again, you can watch the YouTube recording.
The NAACP and LWV Schenectady County collaborated on a virtual candidate forum which is available on NAACP's Facebook page.
The SAVE Act Makes it Much Harder to Register to Vote
The SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) is up before Congress. The act is based on the idea that noncitizens are voting in droves. They are not; it is illegal; and there is almost no evidence to support this.
The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship to register, but few IDs qualify
- A valid passport qualifies because it is a government photo ID with proof of citizenship
- No passport? Need government photo ID + birth certificate
- Birth certificate doesn’t match photo ID (changed name upon marriage)? Need government photo ID + birth certificate + name change document
- Only some Real IDs and military IDs qualify; tribal IDs do not
Under the SAVE Act,
- Voters must register in person at a government office
- Voters must re-register in person if they’ve moved
- Voters must re-register in person if they want to change their name
- Voters must re-register in person if they want to change political parties
- Many people in rural areas would have to travel long distances to register to vote
- People who rely on public transportation may find that the closest government office is a mile or more away from the nearest bus stop.
- Private individuals are allowed to challenge election workers, who could face lawsuits or criminal charges
- Upon passage, the SAVE Act would take effect immediately
Say “NO” to the SAVE Act
Have you ever wondered how to run for political office?
Here’s some information you may find helpful.
LWV Mid-Hudson Valley has shared with us two videos on running for public office.
"Run for Office" is from 2022, and it includes guidance from the commissioners of the Ulster County Board of Elections on the technical aspects of becoming a candidate.
"Run for School Board" features guidance from the New York State School Boards Association deputy director and general counsel. Most of the participants are from Ulster County. It was taped in 2024.
VOTER INFORMATION PUBLICATIONS:
FIRST VOTE:
YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE IN NEW YOUR STATE:
College Students Brochure
Individuals with Disabilities Brochure
Homeless Individuals Brochure
Individuals with Criminal Convictions and Those Detained in Jail or Prison Brochure
How We Elect Our Representatives
Do you know how we elect our Representatives? Why not 
test your skills.
Candidate Forum Policy 2025
Goal: To educate voters on the issues; to stimulate voter interest; to encourage voter participation in elections; to present programs in a nonpartisan manner.
- All candidates for office who meet New York State election law requirements to be on the ballot are eligible to take part in candidate forums. No substitutes will be permitted to take the place of the candidate.
2. These forums are nonpartisan. The League does not endorse, support or oppose candidates or political parties.
3. Candidates for office who have no opponents will be invited to talk with individual members of the audience at the conclusion of the forum but will be unable to participate in the formal part of the forum. These candidates will be recognized if they attend and the reason they are not speaking will be explained.
4. The format of the forum is as follows:
- Index cards will be distributed to the audience and they will be invited to submit a question. Questions will be collected by League members.
- Questions will also be solicited from the public by email in advance of the forum.
- All questions will be screened by League members to eliminate inappropriate questions (personal attacks, etc.), to consolidate repetitious questions and to allow for questions on a variety of issues pertinent to the race. Questions may be rewritten for clarity.
- Questions will be transmitted to the moderator.
- Each candidate will be given two minutes for an opening statement and one minute for a closing statement.
- After the opening statements, candidates in each race will be asked questions from the audience via the moderator. Each candidate will be asked the same question. The order of questioning will be varied. Each candidate is given one minute to answer each question and is given a visual notification of 30 seconds remaining and of the ending of their time limits.
- Candidates will be seated in alphabetical order by last name; the order of questioning will be varied.
5. No video or audiotaping of candidate debates, or parts thereof, is permitted except by those previously authorized by the League of Women Voters to officially record the event.
6. Candidates' literature will be allowed to be distributed on tables placed near the entrance to the forum location. Candidate signs, buttons and literature are not allowed inside the forum.
7. The League reserves the right to cancel the forum if circumstances warrant.
8. Candidates will be sent copies of these policies when they are invited to participate in the forum. Any subsequent changes to the program format will be communicated to the candidates prior to t he program.
Approved 8/13/2025
Local Boards of Elections
New York State Board of Elections 40 North Pearl St. Suite 5 Albany, NY 12207-2729 518-474-6220 Email: INFO [at] elections.ny.gov
City Council and Town Board Meetings
Glenville Town Board meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at the Municipal Center, 7:30 p.m.
Rotterdam Town Board meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at Assembly Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Niskayuna Town Board: Call 518-386-4592 for the schedule.
Schenectady County Legislature Meetings
Local and State-Wide Political Information
The above is a web-site maintained by the SCHENECTADY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, a service of the Schenectady County Public Library.
