New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr., (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) announced the Assembly passed legislation he sponsored consolidating the election calendar so that State and Federal primaries are held on the same day – the fourth Tuesday in June (A.8198).

“With the federal primary date now the fourth Tuesday in June, it makes sense to move the state primary there as well,” Assemblyman Thiele said. “Having multiple primaries on multiple days is both confusing and costly. The Assembly’s legislation would save taxpayers $50 million, make sure our troops have ample time to return their absentee ballots and potentially increase voter turnout.”

In 2009, the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act was passed, requiring that absentee ballots be in the hands of overseas military personnel 45 days prior to a general election. Currently, New York’s September state primary election day isn’t in compliance with this law because it falls too close to the deadline for transmitting military and overseas absentee ballots. New York State was granted a waiver from the MOVE Act in 2010, however, a similar request was denied in 2012 and a federal court imposed a June primary date in New York for federal offices.

For voters, the 2012 election calendar – with the presidential primary in April, the federal primary in June, the state primary in September, and the general election in November – caused overwhelming confusion and a drop in voter participation. While it’s unacceptable for voting to be made more difficult than it needs to be, there is a much greater problem: This chaotic schedule hampers our troops from participating in the very democracy they defend, Thiele said.