Now more than 2.2 million New York voters, 20 percent of the state's total, are barred from voting in primaries because they aren't enrolled in a recognized state party.

Mr. MacKay wants to allow "blank" voters to participate in his party's primaries for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state comptroller and U.S. senator.

"We want to give a voice to unaffiliated and independent voters," said party spokeswoman Sarah Lyons. "Isn't that healthier for democracy, having people participating and being invited into the process?"

Ensuring that all voters have a chance to vote in a primary will help dispel cynicism about the political process and increase voter turnout, she said.

There has already been considerable discussion about the proposal among party members, and the idea appears to have support, she said.

Mr. MacKay plans to seek a change in party rules when the Independence Party's 224-member state committee meets in Albany Feb. 1. If the committee amends the rules to allow open primaries, the rule change must be submitted to the state Board of Elections.

The Board of Elections would reject such a change because state election law prohibits anyone who is not an enrolled party member from voting in that party's primary, said Lee Daghlian, spokesman for the state Board of Elections.

"They can do whatever they want with their bylaws, but that doesn't change election law," he said.

But Mr. MacKay said a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court ruling clears the way for an open primary if that's what a party wants. In 1984, the Republican Party of Connecticut changed its rules to allow independents to vote in its primaries for state and federal offices, even though open primaries were barred by the state constitution.

The Connecticut secretary of state challenged the party, but the high court sided with the GOP, ruling that the ban violated the party's First Amendment rights of free association.

In Oklahoma, the state has prevented the Libertarian Party from opening its primary to all voters, but the party is suing in U.S. District Court. The court is scheduled to hear that case next month.

Mr. Daghlian said he doesn't know whether the Supreme Court ruling would apply in New York's case.

But the state Legislature isn't likely to change the law, and the Board of Elections will uphold the current law, so a federal lawsuit would be the party's only option, Mr. Daghlian said.

"That's the route they would have to go. I can't see them doing it any other way," he said.

Ms. Lyons said the Independence Party has already authorized its attorneys to take whatever legal action is necessary.

The Independence Party is New York's third largest political party, with more than 257,000 members.

The party's candidate for governor, B. Thomas Golisano, received 632,574 votes, or 14 percent of the total, in the Nov. 5 general election.

But the party's Sept. 10 gubernatorial primary, between Mr. Golisano and Republican Gov. George E. Pataki, attracted fewer than 19,000 voters.

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Sharon M. Straight, director of program operations at the St. Lawrence Housing Council, found cause for envy - and hope - when she met big-city colleagues at housing assistance conference in Washington.

"In urban areas you have a lot more resources to go to," she said. But she said she hoped to learn tips about how to make public-private partnerships work better for low- to moderate-income home buyers her agency assists.

The St. Lawrence Housing Council recently became involved in NeighborWorks, a public-private venture that helped the agency add a full-time staffer to its Canton office.

The conference, "Changing the Face of Homeownership," was sponsored by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., a public nonprofit corporation.

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A late obstacle in the U.S. Senate blocked an effort by New York lawmakers to expand five "renewal zones" around the state.

New Yorkers in Congress wanted the federal government to use census data from 2000, instead of 1990, in redefining the borders of zones in Jamestown, Rochester, Buffalo, Lackawanna and Schenectady. The House passed a bill to accomplish that.

But Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., put a "hold" on a companion bill in the Senate, preventing it from coming to a vote.

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer, Democrats of New York, had pushed for the legislation in the Senate.

The defeat was a blow for all of upstate New York, said Robert Bannister, director of Fannie Mae's partnership office for Western and Central New York. He said supporters will try again next year.

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Environmental cleanup in the Great Lakes is on track for $50 million of annual funding. Both houses of Congress have passed a Great Lakes Legacy Act that sets that amount of funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office.

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Sen. Clinton has urged the House of Representatives to raise the federal match for Medicaid by 1.35 percent, which she said would save New York $550 million and ease the budget crunch in many counties.

"Medicaid has become the single largest appropriation in many New York county budgets," Mrs. Clinton said in a press release. "With a struggling economy and a decrease in revenues, many local governments have been forced to either increase taxes, cut services, or do both in order to balance their budgets."

The Senate has already passed legislation to increase the federal Medicaid match.

Compiled by Times Albany and Washington bureaus.

E-mail: mheller@wdt.net

E-mail: pertelt@wdt.net