How New York’s Primary Election System Works

New York uses a closed primary system, meaning voters must be registered with a political party in advance in order to participate in that party’s primary election. Registered Democrats may vote only in Democratic primaries, while registered Republicans may vote only in Republican primaries.

Unaffiliated voters and voters registered with another political party generally cannot participate in Democratic or Republican primary elections. Because New York requires party enrollment before a registration deadline, voters wishing to change parties must do so well before the primary election. New York’s primaries are used to select each party’s nominees for offices such as U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, statewide offices, and state and local positions.

New York does not use statewide primary runoff elections. Instead, the candidate receiving the most votes in each primary wins the party’s nomination for the general election.