ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has rejected Georgia's request to keep the state's federal primary election in July of next year while it appeals his ruling setting the primary two months earlier.

U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in Atlanta issued his order Tuesday.

Jones in July set a new election calendar for Georgia after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit saying Georgia wasn't allowing enough time for military members and others living overseas to return absentee ballots in federal runoff elections.

The state last month appealed Jones' order to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The new calendar affects only federal elections. Unless the Legislature changes the state election calendar in the upcoming session, there will be different schedules for state and federal races in 2014.