Senate BillIntroduced
S 3596: Provides voters with a warning about New York's closed primary system on voter registration forms.
What S 3596 does, verified May 9, 2026
The bill aims to inform voters in New York that the state practices a closed primary system, where only enrolled party members can vote in a party's primary election. In order to vote in a primary election, a voter must be enrolled in the party they wish to participate in, unless the party has established alternative rules. The change will be implemented two years after the bill becomes a law.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO ELECTIONS (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 3596
- What is the current status of S 3596?
- As of May 9, 2026, S 3596 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO ELECTIONS".
- Did S 3596 pass?
- Not yet. S 3596 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 3596, and where is it now?
- S 3596 was authored by Sen. Gustavo Rivera. Its committee of record is Senate Elections.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions5 total · showing 5
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO ELECTIONS |
| May. 28, 2025 | REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE |
| Apr. 08, 2025 | AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO ELECTIONS |
| Apr. 08, 2025 | PRINT NUMBER 3596A |
| Jan. 28, 2025 | REFERRED TO ELECTIONS |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, January 28, 2025 · 202 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3596 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 28, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to notifying voters that New York practices a closed primary system The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the 2 election law, as amended by chapter 113 of the laws of 2023, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 (f) Notice [that political] in bold and prominent type, stating: "The 5 state of New York practices a closed party primary system. Political 6 party enrollment is optional, but [that,] in order to vote in a primary 7 election of a political party, a voter must enroll in that political 8 party, unless state party rules allow [otherwise] otherwise". 9 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07065-01-5
Text of S 3596 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions