The Board of Education authorizes the District Clerk (or board designee) to provide absentee ballots to qualified district voters. Absentee ballots may be used for the election of school board members and for adoption of the annual budget and referenda.

A district voter must request in advance an application for an absentee ballot. The voter must complete the application and state the reason he/she will not be able to appear in person on the date of the district election. The application must be received by the District Clerk at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election if the voter will be picking up the ballot in person. Pursuant to the provisions of Education Law, a district voter may vote by absentee ballot if during all the hours of voting on the day of an election he or she will be:

1. absent from the county of his or her residence; or
2. unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or physical disability, or duties related to the primary care of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because he or she will be or is a patient in a hospital, provided that, for purposes of this subparagraph, “illness” shall include, but not be limited to, instances where a voter is unable to appear personally at the polling place of the school district in which they are a qualified voter because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease that may cause illness to the voter or to other members of the public; or
3. an inmate or patient of a veteran’s administration hospital; or
4. absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than a felony, provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election district of his or her residence.

An absentee ballot must reach the office of the District Clerk no later than 5 p.m. on the day of the election. A list of all persons to whom absentee ballots have been issued shall be maintained by the District Clerk and made available for public inspection. Any qualified voter challenging the acceptance of an absentee ballot must file a written statement with the District Clerk or inform the election inspectors on the day of the district election. Any district resident who needs an absentee ballot and is qualified to vote in this election should contact the District Clerk’s Office, 100 N. Erie Street, Mayville, NY 14757 (716-753-5808) to request an application.