Everything you need to know to be an informed voter.
Running for Political Office | January Voter Services Report | Dec. Voter Services Report | 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
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 Services January 2025 Report
It was all gas and no brakes till November’s election. After getting ready for the holidays, VSC had a brief lull, but things will pick up—fast.
VSC received a grant for our Youth Voter Registration Project from the LWVUS Education Fund, in the same year that we celebrate our League’s centennial. The youth VR project is an opportunity for our League to look to our next 100 years, by sharing with a new generation of voters our commitment to nonpartisanship, and our work on voting rights, voter education, and getting out the vote.
Voter Services 2025:
- LWVUS-EF awarded us $500 based on Ellen’s idea of partnering with student leaders to get their peers interested in becoming voters. VR activities will be held at five area schools—high schools and community colleges. News of the grant came a few days before the holidays, so we are just starting to contact faculty advisors. We would appreciate any help you can offer.
- 2025 is an off-year election, meaning all races are local races, and we are planning a program on how to run for office. Although it might be late for people to consider running in this election cycle, it is always a good time for would-be public servants and their supporters to learn about the laws and the process of seeking office.
- Our first Greenmarket voter registration of the new year is on February 23, 2025.
The VSC needs your time, talent, and support! If you are interested in working on any of
these projects, please join us at our next committee meeting on January 8 from 1:30-2:30pm. We will meet in the Swanker Room at the Karen B. Johnson Library, 99 Clinton St., Schenectady, NY 12305.
Joan Fucillo, VSC chair
Voter Services Committee December 2024 Report
The Voter Services Committee has applied for a 2025 Young Voters Registration Grant from the LWV Education Fund. The terms of the grant are that we conduct voter registration activities between January-June 2025, at a minimum of five different schools.
Our application is based on Ellen’s idea of developing voter registration events by working through student government organizations at local community colleges and high schools.
The question is, how to get students interested? Presidential elections get a lot of attention and a lot of interest. Off-year elections, such as 2025’s, get little attention, and few people turn out to vote. Yet, this may be a good time to talk with young people about why we vote, why it matters, and how to maximize their influence.
It’s in local elections where each vote can have a real effect. The year’s first round of elections is in May, when we will vote on school budgets and school board members. The outcomes of these races will directly affect all students in each school district. We want to ensure that all eligible high school voters have a say in the results.The grant-writing process has prompted us to think a little differently from our normal tabling events. So, whether we get a grant, or not, we will implement a version of this plan. It’s an opportunity to engage directly with young people and to show them why their voices and their votes matter.
Happy Holidays! Joan Fucillo. VSC Chair
Call for Volunteers!
Our first 100 years, our next 100 years.
The League of Women Voters of Schenectady County will turn 100 in 2025. The SUNY Albany archives is home to “eighty years’ worth of information about all aspects of the local organization.”
Our origination story, as told in the archives:
“On April 30, 1925, Mrs. Charles Richmond, wife of the president of Union College, invited approximately fifty to her home for a talk by Mrs. F.W. Slade, chairman of the New York State League of Women Voters. After Slade’s talk, the women at the meeting decides to elect officers and adopt by-laws thereby forming the Schenectady County League of Women Voters.”
Our centenary deserves a celebration worthy of our past and our future! The celebration is two-part:
A historical recognition and tribute. We will ask permission to hold some kind of event at the Union College’s President’s House—even if it’s just to be in the room where it happened.
An outline of our next 100 years. What do we do? What will we look like?
We need volunteers to research our history in the SUNY Albany archives, to work with Union College on a possible event, and to come up with ideas for our next 100 years.
We have a lot of research and a lot of brainstorming ahead of us. A deep dive into our history as a League will help us think more clearly about our future. Should be fun!
I have a synopsis of the contents of the collection from the SUNY Albany archives. Please contact Joan Fucillo if you would like a copy: lwvschenectady [at] gmail.com.
All best!
Joan Fucillo
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 Mental Health Disabilities 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 2023
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 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.
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 5/10/2023
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.
