School budget votes in New York state have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order delaying school board elections and budget votes statewide until June 9. Usually, those votes are held in mid-May.
And the governor said that the school votes will all be conducted by mail, and all qualified voters will be sent an absentee ballot. The New York State School Boards Association said it has been looking for clarity on the issue since many districts have a fiscal year that begins July 1.
Cuomo’s executive order also delays village elections, which are normally held earlier in the year, to be held on September 15. At this point, the state is allowing both in-person and absentee ballots for those village and special district elections.
"We've made great progress to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, but we still don't know when this pandemic will end and we don't want to undo all the work we've already done to flatten the curve," Cuomo said. "We don't want to put New Yorkers in a situation where they are possibly putting their health at risk, so we are delaying school board elections and conducting them by mail and delaying all local special district and village elections to help limit any unnecessary exposure to this virus among both voters and poll workers."
