A federal judge Tuesday ordered New York to move its congressional primary to Aug. 23, rejecting an effort by Democrats to keep the primary in June.
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The ruling comes after a group of voters backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee attempted to stop the state from pushing back the date by two months, arguing that a late August primary would reduce the turnaround time before the general election and risk disenfranchising New Yorkers casting ballots from abroad.
A federal judge last week denied that request, calling it a “Hail Mary pass” by Democrats. He then directed the state’s Board of Elections — which said it could comply with federal law regarding overseas voters if the primary were moved to August — to make its case to Judge Gary Sharpe, who first moved the primary to June a decade ago to accommodate voters living abroad.
Sharpe approved the Aug. 23 primary date on Tuesday, saying he was “not persuaded” by the Democratic voters “speculative assertions that they will be disenfranchised by the delayed primary.”
“The later primary will accommodate the preparation of new Congressional maps and still provide ample time for compliance,” Sharpe wrote in his order.
Any last-ditch effort by Democrats to hold the primary next month, with their preferred map, would face a time crunch since mail ballots would need to go out in mid-May for a late June primary.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some New York primaries — including those for governor and lieutenant governor — are still scheduled for June 28. It’s unclear if they will be moved to Aug. 23 or if the state will incur the added cost of holding two primary elections this summer.
The back-and-forth over the primary date stems in large part from disputes over new maps establishing congressional and legislative districts, a process that takes place every 10 years.
New York’s Supreme Court ruled on April 27 that the state’s congressional map and its state Senate map, as well as the process used to enact them, violated a new anti-gerrymandering amendment to the state constitution. A special master has been hired to redraw the maps by May 20.
Democrats were expected to garner them three additional seats in the U.S. House if their initial map had been used, and many saw New York as critical to helping Democrats compete with the GOP’s nationwide redistricting advantages.
A more neutral map, however, is expected to create more competitive seats, with less assured Democratic gains.
