At the link… the Justice Department has taken New York to court to force it to move up the Congressional primaries to no later than mid-August. A 2009 federal law, the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, requires that ballots be mailed to military and overseas voters at least 45 days in advance of regularly scheduled federal elections. It would be very difficult for even an efficient state holding primaries near the middle of September to get its act together to send out the ballots in time. As you may have noticed, Albany and efficiency rarely appear in the same sentence.

In 2010, the state obtained an exemption from the 45-day rule. It is seeking a similar waiver for 2012. No way, the Justice Department says — enough with the delays. In a few weeks, it will be up to a federal judge in Albany, Gary L. Sharpe, to offer his opinion.  If he refuses to grant the requested exemption, and the appellate courts uphold his ruling, the result could be three primary days — one for president in April, one for Congress in August and one for state offices in September.

What a disgraceful mess.