Elections

Running for the School Board

Petitions to nominate candidates for the office of member of the board of education are available to qualified district residents and may be picked up at the Superintendent’s Office, 1738 Helderberg Trail, Berne, N.Y. 12023, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Applicants must also meet the requirements to be a member of a board of education:

• Must be able to read and write (§2102).
• Must be a qualified voter of the district; that is, a citizen of the United States, at least 18 years of age or older, and not adjudged to be incompetent (§§2102, 2012, 2507(7); Elec. Law §5-106(6)). Note: a convicted felon is barred from running for a seat on a school board if his/her maximum prison sentence has not expired or if he/she has not been pardoned or discharged from parole (Elec. Law §5-106(2)-(4)).
• Must be and have been a resident (but need not be a taxpayer) of the district for a continuous and uninterrupted period of at least one year immediately before the election (§§2105, 2502(7), (9)(d).
• May not have been removed from any school district office within the preceding year (§2103(2)).
• May not reside with another member of the same school board as a member of the same family (§2103(3).
• May not simultaneously hold another incompatible public office (Matter of Schoch & Betheil, 21 ED Dept. Rep 300 (1981).

Voter Information

School budget votes and Board of Education elections take place annually on the third Tuesday in May. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Elementary School cafeteria.

Any U.S. citizen who is 18 years of age or older and a resident of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District for at least 30 days prior to the date of the vote is eligible to cast a ballot in the budget vote. But first you must be registered. Those who are registered for the general elections are automatically registered for school votes.

For any questions on how to register to vote, contact District Clerk: Anne Farnam via email or by phone at (518) 872-1293.

Can’t get to the polls on budget vote day?

You can still vote using an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots will be issued, upon request, to residents of the school district who will be out of town or unable to vote in person due to illness or disability, or have a fear of contracting COVID-19. To vote via absentee ballot, district residents must first complete and sign an absentee ballot application. Applications for absentee ballots are available in the superintendent’s office.

If the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, the district clerk must receive the completed application no later than 3 p.m., 7 days before vote day and election day. Applications for an absentee ballot that are delivered in person will be accepted until 5 p.m. the day before vote day. All absentee ballots must be returned to District Clerk Anne Farnam no later than 5 p.m. on vote day.

Parking on Vote Day

The parking lot in front of the elementary school will be cleared for voters. Please park in this lot for easy access to the polls, which will be in the elementary cafeteria.

Vote Results

Polls are open on voting day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Votes will be counted after that time and immediately announced on the district’s website.