For those who want to quit Republican Party membership in NY State, here is the form with which to do it.
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More on New York State's strict political party registration rules:
10/4/12, “2013 New York Primary Voting Requires Any Party Changes by Oct. 12,” NY Times, Chen
"New York State has one of the most unforgiving rules in the country when
it comes to eligibility for voting in party primaries. Anyone who wants
to vote in the 2013 Democratic mayoral primary — and all of the
anticipated major candidates are Democrats — but is not affiliated with a
party (like Mr. Bloomberg), or wants to switch parties (as Mr.
Bloomberg once did), must take action almost a year before the actual vote.
The law is rooted in the notion that closed primaries should not be
raided, at the last minute, by outsiders who may want to pick, say, a
weaker candidate to run against their preferred choice in a general
election. And it is a law that has survived numerous court challenges,
including a case from the 1970s that was upheld by the United States Supreme Court.
But government watchdogs say that the rule could disenfranchise tens of
thousands of New Yorkers who will discover next year that they cannot
vote in the election that could determine the next mayor of the nation’s
largest city.
By contrast, New Jersey allows unaffiliated voters to declare a political party on the day of a primary and vote on the spot.
“The situation here in New York is yet another manifestation of the
stranglehold that political parties have on election administration — a
stranglehold which is choking our democracy,” said Susan Lerner,
executive director of Common Cause New York. “Most people don’t pay
attention until, at best, a month before the election — that’s just the
way life is lived in the 21st century. This, however, is an apparatus
from the 19th century.”
Of 3.9 million active registered voters
in New York City, 2.68 million are Democrats, 441,000 are Republicans
and 666,000 have no affiliation.
People who register to vote after Oct.
12 — because they are not currently registered, or are registered in
another state — are not affected by the deadline.
Several likely candidates for office next year are urging voters to register as Democrats now."...
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