On the Republican side, the presidential race is wide open, and the chances that Hillary Clinton will coast to the Democratic nomination without a serious challenge diminish by the day. New York’s presidential primary could play an important role in selecting our next president but a third of all voters in the state won’t be eligible to participate.

That’s because New York is one of a dozen states that has a “closed” primary system. Voters can cast a ballot only if they are registered members of the party holding the primary. This fact may be fairly well known; but few people realize that New York’s archaic election laws can require voters to select their party affiliation more than six months in advance of an election. In order to participate in April 19, 2016 primary, voters must be enrolled in the party of their choice by October 9 of this year.

Most of the ineligible voters are what the Board of Elections refers to as “Blanks,” voters who are not affiliated with any party. Party affiliation is a matter of public record, and some people may choose to register as Blanks to preserve their privacy. Others are unaffiliated because they want to signal their dissatisfaction with both major political parties. Whatever the reason, being a Blank comes at a cost—unaffiliated voters cannot participate in primaries, which are sometimes the most important elections on the political calendar.

New York’s voting laws are in need of a complete overhaul. While a case can be made for preventing members of one political party from meddling in the primary of another party, it’s much harder to defend a system that disenfranchises millions of voters—and a law that requires voters to declare their party affiliation more than six months before an election is indefensible. Meanwhile, if you want to vote in the primaries for the next presidential election, remember to register in a party by October 9 of this year.

Bruce Ferguson

Callicoon, NY