Although this article focuses on the possibility of NY-23rd having a Democratic Primary in 2018, the same concerns and laws would pertain to a Republican Primary.
With at least four NY-23rd democrats announcing they are a candidate to run for Congress in 2018 there is a very good chance that NY-23rd will have a Democratic Primary election in June, 2018. There has been some confusion about who can and can not vote in a New York State Primary election.
The biggest take-away from the 2016 NYS Presidential Primary should be that you need to be a registered Democrat to vote in a Democratic Primary. Many wanted to express their Bernie/Hillary opinion and were not permitted to vote because they were not a registered Democrat; they may have heard that in other States’ primaries people can change their registration on the day of the primary. That is not true in New York State.
In New York you can fill out a Voter Registration form to change your party any time up to 25 days before the General Election. You can pick a form up at your County’s Board or elections, or down load a form or request one be mailed to you, You can mailed it or take it to your Board of Elections. When they receive the form, they place it into a locked box that will be opened on the Tuesday after the General Election. The Board of Election staff will then process the form and change your party.
This means that a non-democrat who wants to vote in the 2018 Democratic Primary must change their party by October 13, 2017! Election Law Title III, §5-304
Most people will not be thinking about a Democratic Primary in October. We will not even know who will be running in the Primary until Spring, 2018, when the candidates pass their nominating petitions.
That is why it is important to get anybody who wants to have a voice in deciding who will be the Democratic Party’s nominee to make sure they are a registered Democrat.
Follow this link to check your information your county’s Board of Elections has on file. (You will need to enter your birth-date.)
Let people know that the deadline to register as a democrat to vote in the June 2018 Primary is Friday, October 13.
Please note: For our Republican friends, you can substitute “Republican” every time you see “Democrat” or “Democratic“.
This is what democracy looks like.
