Nassau County Early Voting: Dates, Locations, and What to Bring

Nassau County early voting for 2026 runs October 24 through November 1 for the November 3 general election, and June 13 through June 21 for the June 23 primary. You can vote at any designated early voting site in the county, not just the one nearest your home, and the ballot printed for you will match your home election district wherever you check in.

2026 Early Voting Dates and Hours

New York Election Law Section 8-600 sets the early voting period at ten days before an election through two days before, which creates a nine-day window each cycle.¹ For Nassau County in 2026:

Primary election: early voting runs June 13 through June 21, with Election Day on June 23.²
General election: early voting runs October 24 through November 1, with Election Day on November 3.²

State law requires early voting sites to be open at least eight hours on weekdays, somewhere within a 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. window. At least one site in the county must stay open until 8:00 p.m. on two or more weekdays each calendar week of the early voting period. On Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, sites must be open at least eight hours between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.¹ Exact opening and closing times vary by location and are published by the Nassau County Board of Elections before each election.³ Check the county website or your mailed postcard notification for the schedule that applies to the site you want to use.

Where to Vote Early in Nassau County

On Election Day you have to vote at your assigned precinct. During early voting, you can walk into any designated site in the county.¹ The electronic poll book pulls up your registration and prints a ballot coded to your home district, so the races and propositions you see are the same regardless of which location you visit.

Site counts are keyed to registered voter population. Counties with at least 500,000 registered voters must designate one early voting location for every 40,000 voters.¹ Nassau sits well inside that tier and operates more than a dozen sites. The full list appears on the Nassau County Board of Elections website ahead of each election.³

One caveat. The Board of Elections can, by majority vote, assign specific election districts to particular sites when providing every ballot style at every location is impractical. Without such a plan, every registered voter must be able to vote at any site in the county.¹ Nassau has historically kept all sites open to all voters, but confirm on the county website or your mailed notification before you go.

Am I Registered and Eligible

To vote in any New York election you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 by Election Day, and a resident of the state and your county, city, or village for at least 30 days before the election.⁴ The 30-day clock runs to Election Day, not to the first day of early voting.

Registration has to be complete before you can cast a ballot. A mailed application needs a postmark no later than 15 days before the election. If you deliver it in person, or it arrives by mail without a timely postmark, the Board of Elections must receive it at least 10 days before the election.⁵ For the 2026 general election, applications must arrive by October 24.⁶

Moved within the county since you last registered? File an address update through the state’s online registration portal or submit a new registration form. Changes received at least 15 days before the election will be processed in time.⁷ You can check your current status at the state voter lookup portal.⁸

What to Bring

Most New York voters do not need to show photo ID. Federal law only requires identification from first-time voters who registered by mail and did not include a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number on their registration. Those voters must present a current photo ID or a document showing name and address, such as a utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck.⁹ A first-time mail registrant without any of those documents can still cast an affidavit ballot instead of being turned away.

ID or not, review a sample ballot before you leave the house. The Nassau County Board of Elections posts sample ballots, and the state voter lookup portal shows which races and propositions will appear on yours. Knowing your choices in advance shortens your time in the booth and keeps the line moving.

What Happens When You Get There

At an early voting site you check in first. A poll worker uses an electronic poll book to look up your registration and asks you to sign either a digital screen or a paper register so the signature can be compared to the one on file. Once confirmed, you receive a paper ballot coded to your home election district.

You take the ballot to a privacy booth, mark your selections by filling in the circles with the provided marking device, and then feed the completed ballot into an optical scanner. The scanner reads your marks and shows a confirmation. If it detects a problem, such as an overvote where you chose more candidates than allowed for a single office, it will alert you and let you swap for a fresh ballot. Once the scanner accepts your ballot, the vote is final.

Your early vote is recorded in the statewide system, so you cannot also vote on Election Day. Voting more than once in the same election is a felony under New York law.¹⁰

If Something Goes Wrong at Check-In

If your name isn’t in the electronic poll book, or there’s a problem with your registration record, you are not turned away. You have the right to cast an affidavit ballot. That covers situations like a lost registration, an omitted name, a signature discrepancy, or the system incorrectly showing you already voted.¹¹

You fill out a form printed on a special envelope with your name, address, date of birth, and, for primaries, party enrollment, and you sign a sworn statement that the information is accurate. Knowingly providing false information is a crime. Your marked ballot goes inside the envelope, is sealed, and is sent to the county Board of Elections. If the board verifies you were eligible, the ballot is counted. The affidavit also functions as a registration application, so if the underlying issue was that you were not registered, the board can register you going forward.¹²

Accessibility and Language Assistance

Every early voting site must meet federal accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Polling places are evaluated against the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, and officials can use temporary measures like portable ramps or door props to remove barriers. If a location cannot be made accessible, the county must designate an alternative site that is.¹³

Each site has a Ballot Marking Device for voters who need it. The BMD displays the ballot on a screen with zoom and high-contrast options, or reads it through audio headphones, and it accepts input through the touchscreen or adaptive controls. Accessibility clerks are trained to help.¹⁴

Under federal law, any voter who needs help because of blindness, disability, or difficulty reading can bring a person of their choosing into the booth to assist, as long as that person is not their employer or union representative.¹⁵

Nassau County is a covered jurisdiction under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, so all ballots and election materials must be available in Spanish as well as English, with bilingual poll workers and translated materials at early voting sites.¹⁶

Time Off From Work to Vote

New York gives employees up to two hours of paid time off to vote when their work schedule doesn’t leave enough time to reach the polls. The rule applies when you have fewer than four consecutive hours free between the polls opening and your shift starting, or between your shift ending and the polls closing. Above that four-hour threshold, your employer owes you nothing.¹⁷

To use it, notify your employer between two and ten working days before the election. The employer decides whether the time comes at the beginning or end of your shift unless you agree otherwise, and must post a notice about this right in the workplace at least ten working days before each election.¹⁸ With weekend and evening early voting hours available, many workers can find a slot that avoids the paperwork entirely.

Conduct Around the Polling Place

Electioneering is prohibited within 100 feet of the entrance to any polling place. No campaign signs, political buttons, posters, or literature within that zone while polls are open. Poll workers mark the entrances from which the distance is measured.¹⁹

Federal law separately prohibits intimidating or threatening anyone to interfere with their right to vote in federal elections, with penalties of up to one year in prison and a fine.²⁰ Report harassment or threats to the poll workers on site or to the Nassau County Board of Elections right away.

1
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 8-600 – Early Voting
2
New York State Board of Elections. Early Voting
3
Nassau County, NY. Board of Elections
4
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 5-102 – Qualifications of Voters; Age and Residence
5
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 5-210 – Registration and Enrollment and Change of Enrollment Upon Application
6
New York State Board of Elections. Registration and Voting Deadlines
7
New York State Board of Elections. Voter Registration Process
8
New York State Board of Elections. Poll Site Search, Voter Registration, and Mail Ballot Tracker
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 21083 – Computerized Statewide Voter Registration List Requirements and Requirements for Voters Who Register by Mail
10
FindLaw. New York Election Law ELN 17-132
11
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 8-302 – Voting; Verification of Registration
12
New York State Board of Elections. Resolution To Approve Revised Affidavit Envelope
13
ADA.gov. ADA Checklist for Polling Places
14
NYC Board of Elections. Ballot Marking Device
15
Department of Justice. Statutes Enforced By The Voting Section
16
Department of Justice. Language Minority Citizens
17
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 3-110 – Time Allowed Employees to Vote
18
New York State Board of Elections. Time Off to Vote
19
New York State Senate. New York Election Law ELN 8-104
20
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 594 – Intimidation of Voters