The New York primary system is leaving too many behind

Murat M. Akaydin is a volunteer with Veterans for All Voters, serves as board chair of the Generation Vote Education Fund and is pursuing a law degree at CUNY School of Law.

I’m a native New Yorker, born to working-class Turkish immigrants who made their home in the outer boroughs. In our household, politics didn’t feel like it belonged to people like us. It felt distant. It was something for the privileged, while the rest of us focused on surviving. 

I joined the Army because I believed in this country’s promise: that every American, no matter their background, could contribute, be heard and help shape our shared future. I deployed to Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne, where I served alongside some of the most selfless people I’ve ever met. One of them was Sergeant Nicholas Aleman, a fellow Brooklyn native and Marine. Nick was killed in action. His sacrifice has stayed with me ever since. It left me with a responsibility to make my life count — for him, and for the ideals we both swore to defend. 

That’s why today, I serve in a different way. As part of Veterans for All Voters, I’m working to fix a system that still doesn’t work for people like us. Because the truth is too many New Yorkers are being shut out of the democratic process. 

Here in New York City, nearly one million voters — including many veterans, working-class families and young people — are registered as independents. And because of our closed primary system, they are barred from participating in the elections that often matter most. In a city where the Democratic primary usually determines the final outcome, this amounts to systemic disenfranchisement. 

New York City is proud of its veterans, first responders and public servants. We name streets after them, honor them at parades and recognize their courage and sacrifice. But recognition alone is not enough. Real respect means making sure their voices are heard in the decisions that shape this city. 

More than 130,000 veterans call New York City home. And nationally, nearly 55 percent of post-9/11 veterans identify as political independents. That means tens of thousands of those who served our country are now locked out of the very elections that decide who leads it. For many — including police officers, firefighters and civil servants — the choice to remain unaffiliated is tied to their duty to stay nonpartisan. That choice should not come at the cost of their political power. 

You should not have to join a political party just to have a say in your city’s future. 

Veterans understand sacrifice. But we never expected to be ignored when we came home. 

Meanwhile, insider politics and big money continue to dominate our elections. This year’s races show just how skewed the system has become. Compare two candidates: Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani has more than 20,000 grassroots donors, with 96 percent of them giving $250 or less. His average donation is around $80. Cuomo, on the other hand, has raised over 97 percent of his funds from donors giving $250 or more. 

The 90th-percentile Cuomo donor gives the legal maximum — $2,100. The former governor’s average donation has been over $700. And nearly $1.5 million of Cuomo’s money has come from out of state, making up about 37 percent of his total fundraising. 

The contrast doesn’t end there. Mamdani has almost four times as many donors as Cuomo. He has more donors in every borough — including more in Brooklyn alone than Cuomo has across all of New York City. And this doesn’t even include Cuomo’s reliance on Super PACs, which has resulted in fines for illegal coordination. 

Yet it is Cuomo-style politics that still hold power. Party leaders consolidate control. Super PACs flood the airwaves. And independent voters do not even get to cast a ballot in the primary. 

This is not a system that is broken. It is a system working exactly as it was designed, to exclude and protect those already in power.  

Military service taught me something different. We served under one flag, not one party. We trusted each other, regardless of background or belief. Democracy means inclusion, representation and voice. When those things are denied, when elections are shaped by insiders and money, the people lose power. 

New York City made progress by adopting ranked choice voting. But it still leaves out the nearly one million voters who are not allowed to participate in the primary at all. 

We need open primaries. We need final five voting. One nonpartisan primary for all voters, with the top five candidates advancing to a ranked-choice general election. This model rewards broad support, encourages constructive campaigns and puts more power in the hands of voters. These reforms are not about helping one party over another. They are about fairness, integrity and building a system that works for everyone. 

I did not serve my country to watch democracy shrink at home. I am not doing this for a political party. I am doing it because every New Yorker deserves a voice. 

I am proud to serve with Veterans for All Voters. And I hope more New Yorkers will join us in building a democracy worthy of the people it is meant to serve.