Primary election season is underway in the United States, but for people registered outside of the Democratic or Republican parties, the right to vote may be in jeopardy. 

In New York City, one of the most watched races is in the 13th Congressional District, which includes upper Manhattan and a section of the Bronx. The incumbent is Rep. Charles Rangel, a member of Congress since 1971. His opponents are Democratic State Sen. Adriano Espaillat and First Corinthian Baptist Church Rev. Michael A. Walrond Jr. But the votes of 16 percent of the district's voters won't matter, as New York is a "closed primary," or partisan primary, state.

A closed primary allows only voters of a specific party to vote in that party's primary. But a party can allow unaffiliated voters to participate. In New York, you must be a registered Democrat or Republican to vote in the primary election; a portion of the 16 percent from that district might not know that. New Yorkers registered with a third party, such as the Green Party, Independence Party, Libertarian Party or Working Families Party, can't vote in the primary.

The New York City Independence Party has tried to raise awareness and open the primary election, but the road hasn't been easy.

"One of our core issues is the issue of restructuring the primary process and making it a nonpartisan process so that all candidates and all voters are on a more equal terrain. Right now, we have a very partisan, closed process in New York State and [in] many ways, New York State's election process is one of the most backward in the country," said New York County Independence Party Chair and Citywide Coordinator Cathy Stewart.

In New York City, nearly 1 million registered voters consider themselves independent.

"Most New York City elections are decided in the political party primaries, so independents are thrown to the side. They're not taken seriously, and our issues aren't addressed," Stewart added.

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Most 13th Congressional District residents are African-American or Latino. In a nationwide Gallup Poll, 50 percent of Latinos identified themselves as independent, while 32 percent were Democrats and 13 percent Republican. Among 18- to 34-year-old Latinos, identification outside of the Democratic or Republican parties increased to 56 percent. 

"[Latinos] trending towards independents is very exciting, because obviously the Latino community is one of the fastest-growing communities in the country, so I see it as a very, very important trend," Stewart said. 

While the Republican and Democratic parties try to court Latinos, Stewart hopes Latinos will continue to identify as independents, in addition to requiring candidates to come to the Latino community's terms, "as diverse as those terms are." She also hopes the Latino community becomes a "vibrant force" for structural reform of "the whole political game in the country." 

With independents, other third parties and unaffiliated voters unable to vote in the New York City primary election, the Independence Party is planning to raise awareness by picketing June 24, the day the 13th Congressional District votes to keep Rangel or seek a new representative after more than 40 years. The protest is being coordinated by people including Queens Independence Party Chair Nancy Hanks and Manhattan Independence Party Vice President Jamie Fields, and protesters will gather in locations around Rangel's district. 

"The purpose and goal is to really highlight a very deep flaw in our democracy, which is the exclusion of independent voters from the primaries," Fields said. "We want to be visible on primary day, which is a day when independents are invisible because we cannot participate in the elections. It's very undemocratic, and we want to let people know that that's the case."

Fields said many people don't know they are excluded on primary day if they are not registered Democrats or Republicans.

"We want to highlight it, dramatize it and also reach out to ordinary people and tell them about the situation, and it's also part of our efforts to organize reforms of the exclusion of independents," Fields added.

"Primaries are an important juncture in the democratic process and are often the most competitive. The winner of the race in the 13th Congressional District, for example, will be the presumptive winner of the general election. Excluding 72,000 district residents from that process is unfair and undemocratic," Hanks said.

While the primary protests will be the first for the Independence Party in New York City, similar demonstrations have occurred across the U.S.

In North Carolina, young people, professors, families and other people marched through the downtown area, aiming to raise the issue of primary voting restriction unfairness. Hanks added that demonstrations were also held in Kentucky, Nevada and New Jersey and will continue through September.

"In Pennsylvania, it looked like groupings of voters. Independents with clipboards that said 'I can't vote today, ask me why' standing outside of polling places. It doesn't have to look like a traditional picket," Stewart noted.

Back in New York City, two locations have been selected for the primary day protests in the 13th Congressional District: Tracy Tower Community Center, at 40 Mosholu Parkway South in the Bronx, and P.S. 175, at 134 Street by Lennox Avenue in Manhattan, from 6 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. As of June 18, 70 people had committed to join the pickets. 

Latin Post contacted Rangel's office multiple times by phone, email and social media, but the office had yet to respond.

Several questions were emailed to Espaillat's campaign office. Chelsea Connor, a spokeswoman for Espaillat, released a comment:

"Across every community in the district -- white, African-American, Latino -- voters are hungry for the change that Adriano Espaillat offers. He will bring a fresh voice to Congress and be a fighter for more affordable housing, strengthening locally owned small businesses and better immigration laws," Connor said.

"[Democrats] don't see us. They focus on a narrow slice of voters, not even just all Democratic voters but Democratic voters that are affiliated with unions and clubs who are the one that vote primarily in the primaries. Even in the Democratic Primary, it's only a small percentage of Democrats who vote. They know Independents cannot vote, so we are not at all [on] their radar screen," Fields said.

Election law requires protesters to stand 100 feet from polling sites and not interfere with voters. The 100-foot law states that people can't discuss politics or organize within 100 feet of the polling place's entrance.

"You'll find we're going to meet a lot of voters on that primary day who are independent or who didn't know they couldn't vote or who are outraged that other people can't vote. It's a very rich, organizing opportunity," Stewart said.

According to Stewart, while the 13th Congressional District protest will be a traditional picket, the aim is to "spotlight ... the fact that voters who live in this district and voters throughout the city can't vote on a day where we're picking the next congressperson. Or if it were to be competitive [with an open primary], we're picking the people who are going to be on the ballot in the fall. There's something very awry about that -- that it's not just who wins elections, but the process [with] which they win, whether it's wholesome and healthy and inclusive, matters. It matters how connected we feel to the public policy that these people enact. It matters. It matters who can and can't vote."