Register To Vote In NY State Presidential Primary- But You Can't If You Are An Independent

The deadline for registering to vote in the February 5 Democratic and Republican Presidential primary is this Friday, January 11. You must be registered in order to vote and a member of the party in which you intend to vote. Unlike states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, registered Independents are not permitted to vote in the New York state primary so you must be either a registered Democrat or Republican to vote in the respective elections.

This is the first time in my voting history that the outcome of the NY primary will have an impact on the eventual Republican and Democratic nominee. For that reason I had planned on changing my registration affiliation from Independent to Democrat so that I could vote for Senator Barack Obama. The NY Times reports that for me, and other registered voters wishing to switch their party affiliation, we will not be able to vote in the upcoming primary.

Under New York’s somewhat complicated election law, anyone who wants to switch party affiliation must wait for a general election to take place before voting in the new party’s primary. In other words, Republicans who became Democrats or vice versa had to switch party affiliation by Oct. 12, 2007, to vote in the coming primary.

Every vote counts. Remember how close the 2000 Presidential Florida vote was.


Here is the web site for the NY State Board of Elections.

Uncle Sam image is from Willamette Valley Norml and is not an endorsement of their views. I just like the image.
Ballot examination image is from Campaign Warehouse.

UPDATE 1/29- More on February 5, New York State Democratic Primary here.