(JTA) — Massachusetts’ secretary of state said he would change the date of the 2012 state primary to avoid a conflict with Rosh Hashanah.
The primary is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, the second day of Rosh Hashanah.
Secretary of State William Galvin said Wednesday that the primary could be changed to a Wednesday or Thursday instead of the traditional Tuesday, the State House News Service reported.
The announcement came as state Sen. Barry Finegold criticized the current date as "problematic."
“There are people who literally won’t travel to the polls on that day for religious reasons, and we don’t want to deprive anyone of the ability to vote," he said.
Finegold called for the primary to be held a week earlier, on Sept. 11.
