I think you are getting the primary round of elections confused with the general election itself. Your local board of elections probably has sample ballots tha

I think you are getting the primary round of elections confused with the general election itself. Your local board of elections probably has sample ballots that you can take a look at online if you like, and that might clarify some of the confusion. While you can register as a member of one particular party in order to vote in that party's primary election, you certainly don't have to, and it has nothing to do with how you vote in the general election. In some states, even if you are "unaffiliated" you can participate in one party's primary in that state as well.