BY BETH DEDMAN
If you’re looking to participate in this year’s New York presidential primary but want to change parties before doing so, time is running out.
The final day to change the party affiliation on voter registrations for this primary elections is Feb. 14, according to the Board of Elections in the City of New York.
To participate in the primary election, voters must be registered as a member of their party, according to the Board of Elections. Voters are not obligated to vote for their party’s candidate in the general election.
The Democratic primary election is set for April 28, the Republican primary election is June 23 and the general election will be Nov. 3.
Name, address or party enrollment changes can be made by submitting a new registration application, according to the Board of Elections.
New York State Voter Registration Forms are available at www.elections.ny.gov/votingregister.html.
Once completed, voters must provide postage for the form to be mailed to the attached mailing address for the Board of Elections at 32 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10275-0067.
Voters can also register in person at any of the borough Board of Elections offices Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or at the Department of Motor Vehicles, according to the Board of Elections for New York State. Addresses for the borough Board of Election offices are available on the registration forms.
Voters can also request for the application to be sent to them by emailing vote@boe.nyc.ny.us or calling 1-866-VOTE-NYC.
To vote, a New Yorker must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age and have resided in New York state and their county or city for at least 30 days before the election. No registered New York Voter may claim the right to vote elsewhere; individuals who are incarcerated, on parole for a felony conviction or previously judged mentally incompetent by a court are not eligible to vote.
Polling places are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on primary and general election days. Early voting is also available this year.
Voters can find their polling location at nyc.pollsitelocator.com/search.
“We want everyone interested in voting in New York’s Democratic primary to have the opportunity to do so,” said John Calvelli, New York State director of Mike Bloomberg 2020. “To beat Donald Trump, voter turnout is critical. The more people we have going to the polls, the better chance we have of Trump being a one-term president.”
