BILL NUMBER: S3596AREVISED 4/16/25
SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to notifying voters that
New York practices a closed primary system
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To better notify voters at the time of their registration that New York
State practices a closed Party Primary system.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends paragraph (f) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the
Election Law, as it relates registration and enrollment and change of
enrollment upon application, to require notice to voters in bold font on
their registration form that New York practices a closed Party Primary
system and detail the consequences of that.
Section 2 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State uses a closed primary election system, meaning voters may
participate in party primaries only if they are registered to vote with
that party. Roughly 3 million registered voters in New York State are
party-unaffiliated and an additional 700,000 are registered with smaller
parties. This bill would require that every voter registration form
explain in bold font to the voter the consequences of not enrolling in a
political party in New York State. More explicitly notifying each voter
at the time of their registration will better educate voters and poten-
tially impact the primary enfranchisement of millions of voters in New
York State.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: S7014 Rivera/A5735-A Carroll
2019-2020: S496 Rivera/A3504 Carroll
2023-2024: S3465 Rivera/No Same As
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minor fiscal to update forms.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective 2 years after enactment.

Statutes affected:
S3596: 5-210 election law, 5-210(5) election law
S3596A: 5-210 election law, 5-210(5) election law