Voters who did not receive an absentee ballot for the school budget vote and board member elections, but believe they were supposed to receive one, should contact their respective school districts by phone or email as soon as possible.
School officials said this week that voters' post office boxes may not be on file with the Board of Elections if they registered to vote with a street address; some school districts are seeing ballots returned as undeliverable and are making efforts to get them to voters using alternate means.
"As long as I can verify the information is correct, then I can give them the ballot," Julie Bistrian, the Springs School District clerk, said on Monday. "They can pick it up outside of the office or we can mail it to them. We are taking phone calls and emails and trying to accommodate everybody who calls us."
Springs has had about 500 ballots, out of the 4,500 it mailed, returned as undeliverable. In a normal year, the district would have sent out about 60 absentee ballots, total, according to Debra Winter, the superintendent.
"Post offices are not required to figure out what is your P.O. box, so guess what, they get returned," she said. "There are a lot of community members in that situation in Springs."
In Amagansett, which has had about 10 ballots returned, Sandy Nuzzi, the district clerk, said people should email her at [email protected] and she will do her best to get them their ballots.
After double-checking with the post office, Kerri Stevens of the East Hampton School District reassured voters yesterday that "they are out there."
Some schools, including East Hampton, Springs, Sagaponack, Sag Harbor, and Amagansett, have placed secure drop boxes on their campuses for people who are concerned about their ballots reaching their destinations by the Tuesday, June 9, deadline at 5 p.m.
For East Hampton, the lockbox is in front of the central office entrance, located at 4 Long Lane on the west side of the high school building. The district issued a statement yesterday saying it would prefer that voters hand in their ballots at the box in person to make sure their votes are counted.
In Sag Harbor, the drop box will be in the lobby at Pierson Middle and High School, and will be accessible from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays. "If you choose to drop off your ballot, please do not enter the school beyond the vestibule, wear a face mask, and adhere to social distancing guidelines," said Victoria Handy, the district clerk.
In Bridgehampton and Montauk, there won't be a drop box, but Tammy Cavanaugh and Grace Lightcap, the district clerks, said they and other staff members are present at the school to receive ballots that may be hand-delivered.
"Any ballots brought to the school so far have been brought directly to me and I in turn place them in the safe," Ms. Cavanaugh, of the Bridgehampton School District, said.