Accessibility Policy

The New York State Board of Elections is committed to providing accessible information to individuals with disabilities, including voters, members of the public, candidates, media and treasurers, by meeting or exceeding the requirements of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA.

WCAG 2.0 defines how to make Web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility involves a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. Although these guidelines cover a wide range of issues, they are not able to address the needs of people with all types, degrees, and combinations of disability. These guidelines also make Web content more usable by older individuals with changing abilities due to aging and often improve usability for users in general.

WCAG 2.0 is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of providing a shared standard for Web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally. WCAG 2.0 builds on WCAG 1.0 [WCAG10] and is designed to apply broadly to different Web technologies now and in the future, and to be testable with a combination of automated testing and human evaluation. For an introduction to WCAG, see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview.

The State Board of Elections has published its website accessibility practices and procedures on the web.

The NYS Board of Elections website includes several features designed to improve accessibility for users with disabilities. Some of these features include:

  • Text equivalents are provided for non-text elements such as images for individuals with visual disabilities and others who cannot perceive these elements.
  • A 'skip to main content' link provides users using assistive technologies with a method for bypassing repetitive navigation links to content and going directly to the main content each time a page is accessed.
  • Closed caption transcripts are provided for Commissioner's Meeting Webcasts.

External Links

The State Board of Elections cannot guarantee that externally linked sites meet the target accessibility standards set forth by the agency.

Sometimes external pages we link to are moved or removed creating a broken link. If you think you have come across a broken link on our website please notify our Public Information Officer/Website Accessibility Coordinator.

Document Icons

If a document is available in a format other than HTML, it will be available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). These documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Visit the Adobe Website to download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Users can get information regarding the accessibility of Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files from the Access Adobe website.

If you require a document in a different file format than we currently provide, you can request it from us and we will try to accommodate you. 

Adobe Acrobat

Documents on this website with an Adobe PDF file icon after the name are in Adobe Portable Document Format. These documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. Visit the Adobe Website to download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Users can get information regarding the accessibility of Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files from the Access Adobe website.

To request a print copy of an Adobe Acrobat document, please call the Public Information office at 518-474-1953.

Commissioners' Meetings

If you would like to request American Sign Language or Certified Deaf Interpreters for an upcoming State Board of Commissioners’ or Public Campaign Finance Board Meeting, please contact the Public Information Office at least seven business days before the meeting via email at INFO@elections.ny.gov or via phone at 518-474-1953 or postal address at 40 North Pearl Street, 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12207, Attention: Accessibility Coordinator.

Feedback

If you have any questions or concerns about the accessibility of any part of this website, or you would like to provide feedback on how the accessibility of this website can be improved, please contact us via email at accessibility@elections.ny.gov or via phone at 518-474-1953 or postal address at 40 North Pearl Street, 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12207, Attention: Accessibility Coordinator.

If you have concerns or feedback about non-website issues, please contact us via email at INFO@elections.ny.gov or via phone at 518-474-1953 or postal address at 40 North Pearl Street, 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12207, Attention Public Information Office.

Main Phone Number

See the Contact Page for a full listing of Agency Phone Numbers.