ALBANY - With no additional votes from absentee ballots, Green Party mayoral candidate Daniel Plaat held his narrow lead to win the party's primary against Park South resident Bryan Jimenez.

Plaat garnered 17 Green votes during the Sept. 12 primary election to Jimenez’s 15, ensuring he’ll be on the general election ballot in November. He said he's encouraging residents to vote in the general election.

There were no absentee ballots filed by Green Party enrollees to sway the vote, unlike some Albany races in the Democratic Party primaries.

With heavy Democratic enrollment edge, the primary election typically determines the outcome of Albany races. Albany has 33,441 registered Democrats, though only a little more than a third of them (12,261) turned out for this year’s primary race. There are 3,122 Republicans in the city and 204 Green Party members.

“To make third parties matter, supporting them and showing up at the polls is a first step toward a more inclusive, more democratic city and stronger democracy overall,” Plaat said in a prepared statement. “There are alternatives, still, in the general mayoral election on Nov. 7, and with continued interest and coverage of real alternatives, the general election should not be seen as pointless. The primary victories are not a walk-off game ending.”

Mayor Kathy Sheehan, the winner of the Democratic primary, will be on the November ballot as will Conservative candidate Joseph Sullivan. Albany Common Council member Frank Commisso Jr., who lost to Sheehan in the primary, will be on the Independence Party line in November. He has not said whether he’ll campaign on the third-party line.

When Plaat announced his run for Albany mayor, he aimed to encourage stronger Green Party activity and voter turnout, and expressed disappointment by the results.

Only 32 out of 204, or 15.7 percent, of enrolled Greens voted in the primary. There hadn’t been a Green Party primary for Albany mayor since 2001.

“It is a victory for me, but it is in a way a loss for everybody in terms of turnout,” Plaat said. “While the Democratic turnout was low, the very low Green turnout is extra disappointment. Rather than be discouraged, this just means we need to work harder.”