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NY Eases Rules For Changing Parties Before Primary Elections

ballot box
en.wikipedia.org

New York is relaxing party enrollment deadlines to make it easier to cast a ballot in primary elections.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Thursday giving voters until Feb. 14 to enroll in a party to vote in the April presidential primary or the June congressional and state primary.

Under the old laws, voters had to sign up for a party up to a year before a primary if they wanted to participate.

The deadlines kept many people from voting in the 2016 primaries, including two of Donald Trump's children, who weren't registered as Republicans in time to vote in the 2016 GOP primary for president.

Cuomo says the change removes an unnecessary barrier to the ballot box and will encourage more New Yorkers to get involved in their democracy.

Copyright 2019 (AP)

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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