

Editorial: State must streamline primary process

11:36 PM, Jan. 6, 2014  |  Comments
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There are plenty of ways to illustrate that New York has far too many levels of government and bureaucracy. One is by counting the number of times people are asked to go to the polls. There are school, county, state and federal elections and, depending where you live, village or town ballots to be cast - and fire district votes as well.

What's more, some of these political races have two parts - the primary vote and the general election.

New York must, where it can, streamline this process to make it easier for voters. Yet, once again, the state is balking at aligning its primaries to match the congressional primary date.

This is patently absurd.

For starters, the state would save $50 million by holding a single primary. That alone is enough reason to make the switch.

While the state has held early September primaries for the last 40 years or so, the federal government determined that the congressional primaries had to be moved up to ensure there is enough time between that vote and the November elections for absentee ballots - particularly overseas military ballots - to be mailed and returned. This was a logical determination that should be supported by everyone.

In 2012, a federal judge stepped in and selected a June congressional date for the state after, predictably, New York leaders couldn't reach an agreement on the matter. That year, New York actually had three primaries, with the presidential one taking place in April and New York keeping its state primary in September.

Talk about a completely inefficient system.

Last week, Senate Democrats made a push to move state primaries to June, something that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, also has supported. But Senate Republicans and the Independent Democratic Conference, which share control of the chamber, are resisting the switch.

They do have one good argument - that the legislative session is typically wrapping up in June, and it would make it difficult for lawmakers to both campaign in their home districts and legislate in Albany. That is particularly true for those who have to travel quite a distance to get to the state capital.

But, for voters, the switch would be far better and that, along with the money being saved, should trump other considerations. Besides, incumbents have many advantages in election races, and this change would help level the playing the field for challengers. The September-to-November schedule is far too tight of a window; it doesn't afford challengers the proper chance to get their campaigns in full swing and to build name recognition.

All seats in the Senate and Assembly are up for election this year. So are the statewide seats for governor, attorney general and comptroller. The state should have one primary day in June but would need to settle this matter quickly to bring about a less-convoluted system.

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