Desperate for an issue

Secretary of State Bill Galvin found himself between the proverbial rock and a hard place trying to come up with a date for the 2018 primary elections.

Galvin had a legal window between Sept. 4 and Sept. 18. But he also found himself negotiating around two religious holidays — Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown on the 18th and Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 11. Now early voting days — and the ease of acquiring an absentee ballot — might have made the 18th workable. However, Galvin, trying to be respectful of all voters, opted for Sept. 4 — and yes, that’s the day after Labor Day.

For this he is being excoriated by his Democratic rival, Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim.

“It is outrageous and unprecedented to schedule a statewide primary for the day after Labor Day, when people are just returning from their summer vacations and haven’t had time to focus on the upcoming election. And scheduling an early voting period during the last week of August is equally ridiculous,” Zakim said in a statement. “This is a brazen example of the Secretary trying to depress voter turnout.”

Surely Zakim would have had a press release all set and ready to go rapping Galvin had he opted for Sept. 18.

Zakim favors weekend voting — a system used in Europe, but not tried here, unless you count some of those early voting days last time around.

By the time Massachusetts voters cast their primary ballots this year, voters in 44 other states will have already done so. Spring seems to be a rather popular time for such things. So the day after Labor Day is hardly “early” except perhaps in the mind of a candidate desperately in search of an issue.