Elmont Online

ALBANY -- Senate Republicans are urging a federal judge to schedule the state primary in August, walking away from what Assembly Democrats said was an agreement to ask for a waiver that would have kept the 2012 nominating elections in September.

The September primary is out of compliance with a federal law designed to give military voters at least 45 days to review general election ballots. Lawyers for the Department of Justice are suing the state Board of Elections, asking federal District Judge Gary Sharpe to order a primary no later than Aug. 18.

The Republican-controlled Senate filed a motion to intervene in that case Tuesday, arguing in papers that discussions with the Assembly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have "foundered."

The GOP's concern isn't 2012 but the years to come, when according to the agreement the primary would be held the third week of June. Republicans argue for an August primary because it would allow candidates to circulate petitions in the spring months rather than in the winter, and not conflict with the end of the legislative session in late June.

The Republicans wrote the narrowly divided composition of the chamber "makes the assurance of a quorum to do business fraught with peril when a single missing member or two could shut down the work of the body. ... Members should not be forced, for no practical purpose, to have to weigh their elected responsibilities as members against the need for political presence in their districts."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, last month told the Times Union that all the state's officials agreed to ask for the 2012 waiver and deal with a permanent move in 2013. They had drafted a letter, which was to be submitted to Sharpe, outlining the strategy and promising legislative action, Silver said and several Democratic sources confirmed.

Cuomo has not revealed his preference for when a primary should be held.

Senate Republicans insisted there was never an agreement. Spokesman Scott Reif said "we recognize the need to move the primary, and are having discussions with all parties to that end."

The court filing is not a sign that a solution is near, and may force the Board of Elections to shift its legal strategy.

"The Assembly concurs with the attorney general, the boards of election, and good-government groups that the best way to get voter turnout and properly administer the elections is to hold a primary in the third week of June," said Michael Whyland, a spokesman for Silver. "The Senate Republicans, by filing a motion for intervention and requesting an August date, appear to be contradicting whatever agreement there was."

The Election Commissioners Association, a bipartisan group, argued earlier this month that a June primary was preferable because an August date, at the height of vacation season, raised questions about the availability of poll workers and sites.

Sharpe will hear the case in Albany on Nov. 3. An earlier primary would force a quicker resolution to legislative redistricting, a once-a-decade process that has been the topic of much political bickering.

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