Suit filed to keep GOP on Nassau ballot

Nassau County's Democratic Board of Elections commissioner filed suit Thursday against his Republican counterpart to force candidates on the GOP and Conservative lines in four county legislative districts to be on the Primary Day ballot.

The suit, filed in Nassau County Supreme Court, creates a logistical nightmare for the board as it prepares for the Sept. 13 primary.

The case will be heard by Judge Randy Sue Marber, a Democrat, Friday morning. A decision could come Friday, attorneys said.

Democrats have also asked the court to extend the time that military and absentee ballots can be accepted from seven days to 21 days.

The dispute stems from the GOP's effort to redraw the county's 19 legislative districts for this November's general election, a move challenged by Democrats.

As a contingency, the Republican and Conservative parties selected one set of candidates to appear on the ballot in the 5th, 16th, 18th and 19th legislative districts if the new lines were used and another if the old boundaries were kept in place. The New York State Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the new lines could not go into effect this year.

Republican Elections Commissioner Louis Savinetti claims only the candidates picked to run under the old lines should be on the ballot. But Democratic Commissioner William Biamonte said county law does not allow candidates to remove themselves from ballots this late.

"I didn't put them in this position," Biamonte said. "The [Republican] rationale is they can do whatever they want. It's bad government, bad democracy and bad for voters."

Savinetti attorney John Ryan said the case is without merit. He has collected affidavits from the four candidates planning to run under the new lines stating they do not intend to run under the old lines.

"This is a colossal waste of time," Ryan said.

Running the disputed primaries would cost $250,000, Savinetti said, including hiring personnel, transporting machines and printing ballots. Biamonte says the cost would be less, as judicial primaries will also be occurring in the Town of Hempstead, home to the 5th and 19th districts.

Virtually the only thing the commissioners agree on is that time is running out.

If Democrats win the suit, ballots must be printed, bound and tested using an optical scanning machine, Biamonte said. The elections board must hire polling inspectors and send out absentee ballots which, under a typical scenario, would already have been put in the mail.

The commissioners are working to consolidate the number of machines and board inspectors at each primary polling site to save the cash-strapped county money.