It may only be November, but the presidential primary season will be here in less than six months. New York’s presidential primary is April 2.

Shawn Donahue, clinical assistant professor of political science at the University of Buffalo, said while he feels President Joe Biden is unlikely to face major challenges in the Democratic Primary, the Republican nominating process also isn’t necessarily shaping up to be a decisive vote in New York.

“He’s got a couple of challengers, but they aren’t necessarily seen as that viable, while it’s very possible that former President Donald Trump may have already locked up the nomination,” Donahue said.

He says on the Republican side, the Empire State is more likely to play a significant role in the nomination process.

“If the contest is very competitive and still going on, it puts a big spotlight on a state like New York, that has a lot of delegates to both of the conventions,” he said.

When it comes to who is on the ballot, there are also key differences.

The Democratic Party holds what is called a dual primary. The potential delegates who will choose the nominee at the Democratic National Convention also run separately in each congressional district. The total number of delegates is the allocated based on each candidate’s performance in the primary.

Republicans hoping to make the ballot in New York must either meet certain funding requirements, be determined by the state Board of Elections to be  “nationally known”, or obtain 5,000 signatures, or 5% of the Republican electorate, whichever is less.

In the Republican primary, delegates do not appear on the ballot and all delegates go to the winning candidate.

Then there are dates to remember.

“If you’re not a Democrat, you can’t vote in the Democratic primary,” Donahue said. “If you’re not a Republican, you can’t vote in the Republican primary.”

New York’s closed primary system means that any requests to change party affiliation must be received no later than February 14.

Other key dates include March 23, the last day the state Board of Elections can receive registrations, as well as the date that all absentee applications must be received by the board.

The early voting period for the primary is March 23 through March 30. April 1 is the last day to apply to vote absentee in person, while all ballots received must be postmarked no later than April 2.