A federal judge’s ruling to set the congressional primaries for June 26 has turned New York’s election calendar on its head, making it almost impossible for the state to meet the deadline without changing laws. Legislators said Monday that the political calendar and the drawing of new district lines for state legislative and congressional seats this year makes it unlikely the state can comply with Judge Gary Sharpe’s orders. “I don’t see how you can meet it,” Sen. Thomas W. Libous, R-Binghamton, said.
The June 26 date also is complicated because Sharpe’s ruling only dealt with the date for congressional primaries, not state legislative primaries. So there’s a potential scenario of three primaries this year — the presidential primary April 24, the new June federal primary and the previously scheduled Sept. 11 primary for state offices.
Most Democrats and good-government groups want both the state and federal primaries held on June 26. Republicans have indicated they would prefer a September primary for state races.
Full Article: N.Y. unlikely to meet election deadlines | Star-Gazette | stargazette.com.