Today is primary election day in New York state. Your vote counts more today than in just about any other election day. For example, in 2013 the Democratic candidate for mayor of Syracuse won the primary with 3860 votes, in a city with almost 75,000 voters. No Republican even ran in the general election, so in effect, 5% of the voters in Syracuse elected the mayor that day.
There are two races for a registered Democrat living at my address to vote in here in Syracuse today. Three people are running for two at-large Common (city) Council seats (on a council with five districts and four at-large seats) and six are running for four school board seats (on a board with nine at-large members). The school board race is the most interesting. The superintendent has had a controversial tenure, the teacher's union gave her a 95% no-confidence vote at the end of the 2013-14 school year. She comes out of the "reform" movement and I certainly don't want the board to be her rubber stamp. There is also a primary in Common Council District 4 and a primary for a special election in the Assembly District next door. The winners of all these primaries are virtually guaranteed to win the general elections in November.
There are other races in cities and towns all across the state. Check your local county board of elections website, they should be able to point you in the right direction if you have questions about what various districts you live in and if there is an election you can vote in today.
New York has closed primaries, so you have to be enrolled in a party. THIS PART IS IMPORTANT: If you are not registered as a Democrat in New York at this time and you want to vote in the presidential primary in 2016, you MUST change your affiliation at least 25 days before this general election in 2015. That means you have about a month, so if you want to do it, don't put it off, do it today. If you miss the deadline, you will not be able to vote in any Democratic primaries until after the 2016 general election.
Since the elections this year are local and county elections, we are voting for the people who set property and sales tax rates and oversee the parts of government you will actually deal with in your everyday life (police, fire, schools). Polls are open from noon-9pm (say what you will about New York's restrictive voter registration rules, at least the polls stay open late). Get out and vote people!