Outside New York City, most of New York's 57 counties are run by an elected legislative board — named a Board of Supervisors, County Legislature, Board of Legislators, or Board of Representatives depending on the county — that combines legislative and executive power, often with an appointed administrator handling daily operations. A notable minority of populous, charter-adopting counties instead elect a separate County Executive with independent budget and veto authority (18 of 23 charter counties; the rest use a professional manager or administrator instead). New York City's five counties have no independent county government of their own — those functions were absorbed into NYC's mayor-and-council city government after 1898. A resident should check whether their county has a charter/executive or a traditional board, and contact the county clerk or clerk of the legislature for meetings and records; NYC residents go through city government instead.

Most states use a small elected county commission with combined legislative and executive power and no separately elected executive; New York's most populous counties instead elect a separate county executive alongside the legislative board, while its largest city's county-equivalent areas have no independent county government at all.