Everything you need to know to be an informed voter.
August 2026 Voter Services Report | July 2026 Voter Services Report | June 2026 Voter Services Report | New Get Out The Vote Tool | 2025 Candidate Forums Recordings | 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
August 2026 Voter Services Report
The November elections seem like a long way off, but they sneak up on us every year! We’ve already begun planning candidate forums, under Liz Yanoff’s leadership.
Local elections for villages and towns have moved to even-numbered years, while city and county elections will remain in odd-numbered years, but that change won’t be fully implemented until 2030. Special elections to fill an unexpired term add another wrinkle.
We’ll be holding candidate forums for Scotia/Glenville (Glenville Town Board and Town Justice and Scotia Village Trustees), Rotterdam (Town Supervisor), Niskayuna (Town Supervisor) and Schenectady (City Council special election).
We’ll be looking for volunteers to help with the candidate forums. It’s a good opportunity to hear the candidates running in your town, village or city.
And, of course, we will continue to do voter registration events to register voters and encourage them to vote. Take a look at the signup sheet at Voter Registration Signup if you’d like to volunteer. If you know of an organization that would like us to do voter registration, contact me at lwvschenectady [at] gmail.com
Cheryl Nechamen, Voter Services
July 2026 Voter Services Report
Summer is peak season for festivals and community events. While the League typically does not register many voters at those kinds of events, they are a good opportunity to give out information, along with lots of Jolly Rancher candy and American flags.
Our Civics Table at Kids Arts Fest on June 6, 2026
Our Your Right To Vote brochures, covering groups such as individuals who are in college, homeless, disabled or with criminal convictions, give hope to people who have difficulty voting.
We also try to keep up with current events- school elections in May, encounters with ICE agents, primary elections in June and midterm elections in November.
We’ve already scheduled several voter registration opportunities in July at Mopco Improv Theater, S-G Fresh Table pop-up food pantry and March for Jesus. To volunteer at any of these events, check out our Voter Registration Signup. We’ll make sure new volunteers are paired up with experienced League members.
If you know of an organization that would like us to do voter registration, contact me at lwvschenectady [at] gmail.com.
Cheryl Nechamen, Voter Services
June 2026 Voter Services Report
Serendipity: Finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; luck that takes the form of such finding.
Recently, I was driving home when I saw tables and tents being set up in the bank parking lot, and a long line of people waiting, grocery bags in hand. Mostly women, of all ages, and children. I parked the car and went to see what was going on. It was a pop-up food bank getting ready to open.
SG Fresh Table (Scotia-Glenville), the group operating this pop-up, is part of the Fresh Table Pop Up Community Pantry, a mobile food pantry and authorized member of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. SG Fresh Table offers free fresh produce, meat, and dairy to people in need--no questions asked.
The mobile pantry pops up once a month. When I stopped by in May, the pantry was at the First National Bank, Scotia Main Branch. In June, it will be at the First National Bank, Scotia-Glenville Branch on Rte. 50.
While waiting for a chance to talk with Justin Cook (who co-founded Fresh Table with Kim Talbot), I watched volunteers scrambling to get everything ready and talked to a woman cradling a baby, a little girl with a white flower clipped to her soft dark hair. This young mother said she had to go to her car to breastfeed, but her son would hold their place in line. He was eight, she said proudly. A little guy swinging a large bag, he waved to his mom.
When Justin was free to talk, he thought I was there as a volunteer. I explained that I'm a member of LWV of Schenectady and was interested in what we could do together. He got excited, saying that of all people, the ones standing in that line really need voter services. He'd be happy to host us.
As League members, we keep our eyes open for opportunities to offer our fellow citizens the information and assistance they need to exercise their right to vote. A willful search for serendipity.
We'll be at First National Bank, Scotia-Glenville Branch, on Wednesday, June 17, 6-7:30 pm.
And on June 6, at the Kids Arts Fest, Jay Street, Schenectady. Noon-4 pm. Sign up to volunteer at LWV voter registration.
Any questions? E-mail me at lwvschenectady [at] gmail.com
Joan Fucillo
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
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.
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.
