It’’s not really news anymore when a high-level state politician is forced to resign or accused of a criminal act. It’s an embarrassment that happens far too often in Albany politics.

The latest embarrassment was the recent indictment of then-Lieutenant Governor Brian A. Benjamin who resigned earlier this month after he was indicted on five corruption-related charges that alleged he attempted to trade a state grant for campaign contributions. On the day of his arrest, Benjamin was forced to cancel an appearance in Newburgh.

It’s worth noting that Benjamin was appointed Lieutenant Governor last year when Kathy Hochul, his predecessor, was elevated to the state’s number one position following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo.

While he is no longer in office and clearly in no position to serve, Benjamin remains on the ballot for the June 28 Democratic Primary where he remains Hochul’s running mate as she seeks her first full term. Benjamin, who maintains his innocence with these federal bribery charges has acknowledged that he is unable to serve.

The predicament has led state legislators to introduce legislation to remove Benjamin from the ballot. A resolution was introduced in the state senate last Friday. Two similar bills had already been introduced to the state Assembly. As of Monday evening, it appeared that a deal was in the works.

It should have been a no-brainer, but apparently it’s not. By law, candidates who had formally accepted a party’s nomination could not be taken off the ballot unless they died, moved out of state or were nominated to another office. People who have been convicted of felonies are eligible to run for and hold public office under New York law, though a politician convicted of a felony while in office will be removed, according to the state Board of Elections.

But some of Hochul’s foes on both sides of the political aisle oppose the move, arguing that changing the ballot now will help her politically by allowing her to remove what amounts to political deadweight this late in the process.

It shouldn’t matter. A person unfit to hold elected office should not be on the ballot. And seven weeks before the primary certainly allows enough time to make the switch.

And a new running mate assures her of nothing. As the New York Times reported this week, “a difficult budget process, in which Ms. Hochul extracted $850 million in funding for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, as well as changes to the state’s bail laws, eroded much of the good will she had with lawmakers.” And despite television ads showing her burning the midnight oil in the State Capitol, a recent Siena College poll shows that her approval ratings have slipped recently.

None of that really matters. What matters is that a public official under federal indictment should be removed from the ballot because it’s the right thing to do.

It was reported Tuesday at Congressman Antonio Delgado would be appointed Lieutenant Governor.