Put New York voters first

New York has a mess on its hands, thanks to the gerrymandered election maps Democrats so shamelessly drew.

Those maps, signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, were tossed last week by the Court of Appeals. That was the right decision.

But now New York voters face the prospect of two primaries: one on June 28 for gubernatorial and other races unaffected by the ruling, and another in August for congressional and state Senate races.

That’s unacceptable. Turnout for primaries is already shockingly low in New York, and having two separate elections would only further depress the number of voters who cast ballots.

And why should voters be asked to go twice to the polls, especially during summer months, when diversions are many? Voters didn’t create this mess. Politicians did, and they should do whatever they can to alleviate the confusion they created.

Alas, that isn’t what Democrats are doing. The party is still attempting to defend the indefensible by asking a federal court to essentially overrule the Court of Appeals.

Democrats also argue that a June primary for all elections is set in stone — it isn’t — and lawyers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are even floating a last-ditch plan that would do away with congressional districts and hold an at-large election for all 26 House members from the state.

Can you imagine the chaos and confusion such an absurd scenario would create? Worse, it would result in an election in which the concerns and desires of upstate voters were overwhelmed by those from more populous downstate areas.

The simplest solution here is the best one: a single primary in August for all races, as a petition newly filed in state Supreme Court is seeking.

To be sure, delaying the gubernatorial primary could have consequences Ms. Hochul may prefer to avoid. It would give her primary challengers more time to make their cases, for example, and might even allow former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to enter the race.

But the needs of Ms. Hochul and other elected officials should not be the priority. What matters is what’s best for voters.

The gerrymandered election districts weren’t in voters’ interest, of course. By choosing egregiously biased maps designed to create for themselves a massive partisan advantage, state Democrats showed blatant disrespect for fair and competitive elections — and for democracy itself.

Democrats must begin to make amends. They must show that they’ve absorbed the lessons of the Court of Appeals decision and respect New York voters who in 2014 added antigerrymandering language to the state constitution. They must show that they’ve traded the arrogance of their gerrymandering for much-needed humility.

Lawmakers from both parties must put voters first and agree to delay all primaries until August. If they won’t, the courts should do it for them.