WFP threatens to sue over potential switch to nonpartisan 'jungle' primary
The New York Working Families Party is considering suing the charter revision commission convened by New York City Mayor Eric Adams if it puts a proposal to switch to a nonpartisan “jungle” primary system on the November general election ballot.
Nothing is finalized yet, but as the commission nears the end of its review of the city’s governing document known as the city charter, public attention – and controversy – over the potential ballot proposal has grown. At the heart of the matter is the future of the city’s current “closed primary” system, which requires voters to be registered with a specific political party to vote in the corresponding primary. (For instance, only registered Democrats are allowed to vote in the Democratic primary.) Whoever wins each party’s primary then runs in the general election, which is open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation.
If the commission chooses to put a question on the ballot to pivot to a nonpartisan primary system and that ballot proposal is then approved by voters, then all candidates would run in a single primary regardless of their party affiliation, and all voters would be eligible to vote in the primary. Using ranked-choice voting, whichever two candidates received the most votes – again, regardless of their political party – would move on to the general election. Party affiliation would remain on the ballot, but if two Democrats won the most votes in the primary, then two Democrats would move on to the general election. And so on and so forth.
It’s a complex issue, and the commission itself recognizes as much. Last week, the commission put forward four likely ballot proposals related to the city’s land use process and one proposal to move city elections to even-numbered election years, members held off on including a potential sixth question pertaining to the switch to a top-two jungle primary system, stating that members are “continuing to consider” whether to move forward with it. Much of the commission’s final public hearing, which was held Monday night in Harlem, centered on the issue of nonpartisan primaries, with many people testified both for and against it.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/07/wfp-threatens-sue-over-potential-switch-nonpartisan-jungle-primary/406564/?oref=csny-category-lander-top-story
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