Some lucky New Yorkers will get to vote at museums, theaters, and gardens.
Most of us New Yorkers will head to schools, churches, and community buildings to cast our ballot this election. But some lucky folks get a super cool setting to go along with their civic duty. Instead of checking the boxes in a library, those who live in the voting districts of some historic places, museums, and amazing NYC attractions actually can vote there.
Given the political stakes this year, we hope you don't need any extra motivation to get out of your apartment and get into the polls. But if your voting district falls within one of these cool locations, consider it an extra treat for your important work as a voter. Scroll down to see the most unique and coolest polling places in NYC. Some are used for early voting and some on Election Day itself. The easiest way to locate your poll site is using the Board of Elections in the City of New York's handy online tool, which you can find right here.
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You know who really hopes you vote? The whales, dolphins, squid and thousands more aquatic creatures represented at the American Museum of Natural History. And lucky for some Manhattanites, AMNH is a voting location this fall. So why not make a day of it? Go explore the natural world, then cast your vote.
Voting at Lincoln Center is already incredibly cool. But making it even cooler? It's the site of Play For The Vote where Met Orchestra violinist Sara Crocker Vonsattel will perform at the David Rubenstein Atrium polling center at Lincoln Center (1887 Broadway) between 9-10am on Election Day, November 5.
Launched in 2020, Play For The Vote has enlisted thousands of musicians across the country to play at polling sites to provide an even better voting experience.
Some lucky Queens residents get to vote at this 39-acre serene space. They'll get to pass the two blue atlas cedars that flank the gate at the garden's Main Street, and perhaps even purchase tickets to see its variety of horticultural sights, including a Fragrance Walk, Cleansing Biotope and Wetland and Woodland Garden. Voting at this verdant oasis is the perfect breath of fresh air after this election season's chaos.
This massive multi-disciplinary arts center in Hudson Yards is state-of-the-art—and it's a polling place this year! Out front, a 17,000 square foot open-air plaza transforms into the building's multi-use main hall via an 8 million pound retractable steel sheel that extends across the courtyard on wheels. Definitely an inspiring spot to cast a ballot.
It would take multiple visits to fully appreciate this sprawling–as in 13-acres of Central Park sprawling–collection of over 5,000 years of art from every corner of the world. If you live in certain parts of Upper East Side, you can make a pilgrammage to the Met to vote AND see some art.
As one of the biggest museums in the world, the gorgeous late 19th century neo-classical institution displays some of the finest examples of art spanning from mummified royalty of ancient times to avant garde fashion couture from last year’s runway.
Imagine going to vote and being able to check out the incredible new Brooklyn-focused exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum after casting your vote (of course, you'd have to get tickets). Some voters will get to do this and we're totes jealous.
The museum, found on the edge of the sprawling Prospect Park, has a large holding of Egyptian art as well as the famous feminist piece, The Dinner Party, by Judy Chicago. Works by such Impressionists masters as Cézanne, Monet and Degas are also included in the collection along with with prime examples of Early American Art, period rooms and so much more.
Sometimes politics can feel like a movie—and this museum, which is serving as a polling site is dedicated to cinema. MOMI explores all aspects of the moving image from production and promotion to exhibition. It features a state-of-the-art 267-seat cinema, gallery spaces and cool exhibits worth checking out after you cast your ballot.
Voters around Brooklyn Borough Hall, where the Brooklyn Borough President works, get to perform their civic duty in what is the former city hall of the City of Brooklyn. Built in 1848, Brooklyn Borough Hall is a city landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. It's pretty cool that some New Yorkers will get to vote inside a place where government is actively happening and has been for more than a century.
This Upper East Side Episcopal Church is also a polling site, like many other churches and places of worship across the city. This building, however, is a gorgeous place to cast your ballot. Founded in 1865 by American Civil War veterans, it was meant to memorialize soldiers who had died in that war. With 1,000 members in 1900, it moved from its original site on Fifth Avenue and 46th Street to Fifth Avenue and 90th Street.
It's an inspiring place to vote, plus it was featured in the 1997 film The Devil's Advocate with Keanu Reeves and you can stop by the Bluestone Lane located there for a little treat after your vote.
Some voters will get to go inside the Theater for New City to cast their ballots. The East Village venue, quite fittingly, is one of the city's leading Off-Broadway spots for political and community-centric programming with four theaters across 30,000 square feet. It's housed in the former First Avenue Retail Market, which was created in 1938 by Fiorello LaGuardia to take pushcart peddlers off the streets.
Here is what else you will be voting for on Election Day 2024 in NYC.
We explain how to find your polling site during early voting period and beyond.
From free breakfast and beer to a game of ping pong.
Discover Time Out original video
