ALBANY -- The Justice Department is seeking to force New York's boards of elections to hold congressional primaries no later than August, citing the state Legislature's failure to set a different date.
The contests are currently held in September, roughly six weeks before the November general election. But that doesn't give the state enough time to mail absentee ballots to military personnel stationed overseas 45 days before an election, as required by federal law.
The federal agency sued New York for non-compliance in 2010, but the parties reached a settlement that gave the state a temporary reprieve for elections that year. Monday, the Justice Department filed papers seeking a court order that would push the primaries at least to August.
An Oct. 20 hearing is set before U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe.
-- Jimmy Vielkind
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