Everything you need to know to be an informed voter.
Still Time To Sign Up To Vote In Party Primaries | New Get Out The Vote Tool | Jan/Feb Voter Services Report | December 2025 Voter Services Report | 2025 Candidate Forums Recordings | November 2025 Voter Services Report | 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
Still time to sign up to vote in party primaries
Ever wonder how the candidates that appear on the ballot in November were chosen? Each of the four major parties, Conservative, Democratic, Republican and Working Families, selects a candidate. However, if someone challenges the party’s choice, there’s a primary election, which takes place in June. The winner of the primary will be on the ballot in November.
Here’s where your role as a voter comes in. One of the quirks of New York is that it is a closed primary state- only voters enrolled in that party can vote in the primary. In other words, only Republicans can vote in the Republican primary, only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary, etc. In November, you are free to vote for any candidate, regardless of your party affiliation.
If you did not pick a party when you registered to vote, you are an independent voter. Which sounds great - who doesn’t want to be independent? But it also means you cannot vote in any primary election and as a result, you will not have a chance to select a candidate. In some races, choosing that candidate in the primary will effectively determine the outcome in November.
You can fix that by filling out a new voter registration form, on paper or online at https://elections.ny.gov/register-vote. The deadline to enroll in a party or to change your party affiliation is February 14.
Cheryl Nechamen
New Tool to Get Out the Vote
The State League has joined with NYCET(The New York Engagement Table). With this partnership we have access to VAN (Voter Activation Network) providing us with information from voting rolls.
This new tool will allow us to engage with voters to educate and strengthen our GOTV (get out the vote) efforts. It is an online database from public voting rolls. Along with our access to VAN, we have a specialist, Monica, who is working with the state league to help counties across the state to use the database. With this information we could figure out areas in our county that have lower than average voter turnout and focus activities and efforts to increase participation. So for example, we could create a nonpartisan list of voters, (party is not included in the information that we have access to) in a lower turnout district and send postcards or texts to remind them to vote or reminders about early voting, for example.
We do pay a fee for texts sent, as well as postage for postcards. I have taken the training and would love to work with other members of our league that might be interested in this project. We can make this as complicated or simple as we like, I am aiming for simple, but would love to bounce ideas off of other interested members. If you are interested, please reach out to me, Ellen Daviero at lwvschenectady [at] gmail.com
Jan/Feb Voter Services Report
If you haven’t heard, the National League has awarded us a grant to register youth voters, focusing on Title 1 schools and community colleges.
The National League’s zoom training for the grant was excellent. It included tips on data tracking and ways to follow up with students to remind them to vote. LWVUS also shared Tufts University’s informative research on youth voting and polling, from its Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).
The message was that registering a voter is step one. Getting them to vote requires continual and consistent effort: Engage students; get volunteers to help register voters; make sure everyone involved knows that registration is not the goal – it’s just the start.
The highlight of the meeting was listening to grantees from all over the country sharing their experiences – both successful and not so successful. Some school districts deny access to the League; in others, school superintendents strongly support League efforts.
Some can ask the schools to include voting messages and upcoming voting dates in the morning announcements. Others invite students to register at a rally-the-vote event at the local library and to come back for a GOTV drive. Some sweeten the deal with giveaways and drawings for gift cards.
This is the second year we’ve received this grant. In 2025, we had a wonderful experience working and meeting with high school and college students, registering 158 new voters.
In 2026, we are expanding our efforts to GED classes and hope to meet, register, and follow up with many more young people over the next five months.
Here are a couple of links to pique your interest in this project: Tufts University CIRCLE: https://circle.tufts.edu/2024-election
Project of LWV of Fremont-Newark-Union City: https://youthvotermovement.org/
Valentine’s Day is the LAST day you can change your party enrollment. If you want to vote in the June primaries, but you are not registered with a party, or want to change your party, February 14, 2026, is the last day to do so.
Coming up: Voter registration at Fulton-Mongomery Community College, March 25, and April 2.
Please check the Voter Registration sign-up sheet for these and future VR opportunities: Voter Registration Drive Sign Up
Joan Fucillo, Voter Services
December 2025 Voter Services Report
Our League had a successful year—registering voters, holding rallies, welcoming many new members, and hosting candidate forums that were all well-attended and well-viewed online.
In theory, we have downtime, at least until spring but, the truth is, voter services is year-round. And 2026 promises to be another critical year for voters, voter registration, and voting rights.
So, now’s the time to plan for what 2026 may bring for voters—for all citizens. This includes stepping up our efforts to get people to register and vote, and to bring them the tools they need to make informed choices at the ballot box.
To expand our outreach to young voters, we’ll be back at Schenectady and Mohonasen High Schools, and Schenectady County and Fulton-Montgomery County Community Colleges, to discuss why voting is important, and to register students 16 years and older. And we’re adding voter education and registration events at GED classes, adult and youth. We need a lot of volunteers.
But meeting with teachers and students to register voters happens only during school hours. Not all or even most of our members can do that. Nor should they. Voter services is a lot more than standing behind a table, urging people to register. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities (i.e., tasks) that can be done from home.
We need people to research issues that affect all voters—young and old—and their voting rights, and to reach out to the other capital district Leagues, the NAACP, Planned Parenthood, the Sycamore Collective and other faith groups, to see where we can coordinate our efforts. Our League hasn’t used a program that can help us keep voters informed and another that tracks voting patterns in our area. We need volunteers to be trained on Vote411, the national League’s candidate information website, and VAN, a national voter database.
Our next committee meeting is on Wednesday, December 10, at 2:00 pm at the KBJ Library, in the Swanker Room. The topic is, “How to make it easier for you to volunteer.” Come join us, if you can, or send your ideas, comments, suggestions to: Joan Fucillo lwvschenectady [at] gmail.com (l)lwvschenectady [at] gmail.com (
)Voter Services looks forward to hearing from you. And thank you!
Check out the volunteer sign-up sheet at LWV voter registration.
Joan Fucillo, Voter Services Chair
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
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.
