An intermediate level court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters to consolidate New York's party primaries to a single Aug. 23 date.

The development makes it more likely New York's party primaries will go ahead as scheduled: Statewide and Assembly primaries will be held on June 28; congressional and state Senate races on Aug. 23.

The legal challenge to the duel primaries was filed last month by the good-government organization against the state Board of Elections after New York's top court tossed out the state lawmaker-drawn district lines for the U.S. House seats in New York as well as the state Senate.

Because of the looming primary, a lower court moved the vote for those races to August, severing them from the already scheduled June 28 for the races unaffected by the redistricting ruling.

The League of Women Voters had argued the two primaries would be a costly burden for taxpayers and local elections officials. But the state Board of Elections argued the case would make the elections even more expensive given the ballots had already been printed, and staffing already planned.

A five-judge panel ultimately agreed the legal challenge was filed too late.

"Such delay was entirely avoidable and undertaken without any reasonable explanation," the court found.