Do You Have To Be Registered Republican To Vote In Republican Primary In New York

New York state voters go to the polls Tuesday to help determine the presidential nominees for both major parties.

ALBANY — Democrats and Republicans tin can vote Tuesday in the state's presidential primaries, the first time in decades that New York has had competitive presidential campaigns.

Just the hard-fought races have put a spotlight on New York's complex primary laws.

So here's help understanding how New York's primaries work.

Who can vote?

Only registered voters enrolled equally a Democrat or Republican can bandage a election Tuesday. Polls are open in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam from 6 a.m. to 9 p.chiliad.

New York is a "closed" chief state, meaning those who aren't enrolled in a party — independents — and those enrolled in pocket-sized parties can't vote Tuesday.

ANALYSIS: v takeaways from Trump, Clinton wins
NEW YORK Principal RESULTS: Canton-by-county map of the Autonomous race
NEW YORK PRIMARY RESULTS: County-by-canton map of the Republican race
NEW YORK PRIMARY: Alive from the Trump, Clinton, Sanders parties

Tin can I still register to vote?

No. New York'due south deadline to register to vote in the presidential primaries was March 25 for new voters. The state doesn't allow same-day registration.

Can I yet change parties?

That deadline has passed, too. Because of New York's arcane voter-registration laws, you lot had to alter your party enrollment by Oct. 9 of last yr to vote in a different political party'southward presidential primary this twelvemonth.

How can I observe out if I'thousand registered and where to vote?

The state Board of Elections has a database you lot tin check at voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/votersearch.aspx. Or you can contact your county Board of Elections.

What will I encounter on the election?

For Republicans, it's easy: You will cast a vote for Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich or Ben Carson, who remains on the ballot despite dropping out of the race last month.

While the main vote will determine how many delegates each Republican candidate gets, the GOP's land commission members in each congressional commune will decide who the delegates will exist in May.

The Autonomous election is more convoluted.

Voters will vote for their preferred nominee: Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton.

But they volition likewise be asked to vote for delegates to correspond their congressional commune at the Democratic National Convention in July. Depending on the commune, Democratic voters will exist asked to vote for v, six or seven delegates, who will exist listed on the ballot by name along with their gender — delegates are carve up evenly among men and women — and the candidate they support.

What's at pale?

In all, 95 Republican delegates and 291 Democratic delegates are up for grabs.

On the GOP side, each of the land's 27 congressional districts have iii delegates to award. If a candidate wins 50 pct of the vote in a district, he gets all three. If the winning candidate doesn't hitting 50 percent, he volition become two delegates and the second-place finisher will get ane, provided he gets at least 20 percent of the vote.

The remaining 14 GOP delegates become to the statewide winner — if the candidate wins at least 50 percent of the vote. Otherwise, they're distributed proportionally to all candidates who go at to the lowest degree 20 pct of the vote.

The Democratic side is more than complicated.

There are 44 unpledged Autonomous delegates, commonly known as "superdelegates": congressional representatives, current and former governors, Autonomous National Committee members and other officials who are complimentary to support whomever they wish, regardless of the main vote.

The remaining 247 Democratic delegates are based on the primary results.

A full of 163 delegates are awarded at the commune level. Each congressional district has five, half dozen or seven delegates that are distributed proportionally, based on the results in each private commune.

The remaining 84 Democratic delegates are distributed proportionally based on the statewide main results.

What's it all mean?

A Republican presidential candidate has to go to i,237 delegates nationwide to capture the nomination on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in July.

As of at present, Trump has 743 pledged delegates, while Cruz has 545 and Kasich has 143, according to The Associated Printing. If none of the candidates go to 1,237, New York's delegates will be able to vote for whomever they choose later on the first ballot at the national convention.

The Democratic candidate has to get to ii,383 delegates nationwide.

As of now, Clinton has 1,761 delegates and Sanders has 1,073, co-ordinate to the AP. If neither candidate reaches the two,383 mark with pledged delegates, superdelegates could decide it.