Presidential Nomination Schedule
Republicans and Democrats Review Presidential Nomination Schedule: A Review of Reform Proposals
Both major political parties plan to review the timeline of presidential primaries and caucuses in recognition of the fact that many states have pushed their primaries up to so early in the election year and that today a very small number of voters in Iowa and New Hampshire have far more influence than any other Americans in narrowing the field.The Democratic National Committee already has created a commission to study its nomination schedule, which held its first meetings this spring. Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ken Mehlman has said he expects they will form a similar study committee. In 2000, the RNC nearly adopted the “Delaware Plan” that would set up a calendar where there would be a month-long gap between primaries, and the population of states holding primaries would grow, with each primary date including bigger states. The big states would vote last, but would maintain influence by having the most delegates. The Delaware plan is designed to allow a less well-known candidate to gain a footing in the early primaries, but not shut out the rest of the states, with party members having more time to consider whether frontrunners best represent their party.
Reviewing Plans
FairVote supports the goals of the Delaware plan, but prefers a variation of the proposal that would not always put the states in the same order. We have come out in favor of what has been dubbed the “California Plan,” but which we call “the American Plan,” as it would likely give all states an equally influential role over time. Here is a short review of three leading proposals:
Delaware Plan: Under the Delaware Plan, the states would be put into four groups according to population. The smallest 12 states, plus federal territories, would vote first, followed by the next smallest 13 states, then the 13 medium-sized states, and finally the 12 largest states. These four consolidated primaries would occur on the first Tuesday of each month, beginning in March and ending in June. Although having valuable benefits, the main disadvantage to this plan is candidates having to compete in 12 states in the very first primary, which makes retail politicking harder, and the fact the states are always in the same order.
Regional Primary System: The National Association of Secretaries of State has endorsed the idea of regional primaries, with a series of regional primaries separated by a month and with the order of regions changing in every election cycle. While having the benefit of ensuring all states in a given 20-year period would have a chance to be among the first primary dates, it would make retail politicking very difficult.
American Plan / California Plan: The American Plan, more commonly known as the California Plan, features a schedule consisting of 10 two-week intervals, during which randomly selected states may hold their primaries or caucuses, with a gradual increase in the total population of states and territories holding primaries/caucuses. This 20-week schedule is weighted based on each state's number of congressional districts. American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, which also send delegates to both national conventions, are each counted as one district in this system.
In the first interval, a randomly determined combination of states with a combined total of eight congressional districts would hold their primaries, caucuses, or conventions. In the second period--two weeks later--the eligibility number would increase to 16. Every two weeks, the combined size of the contests would grow by eight congressional districts, until a combination of states totaling 80 congressional seats (8 x 10)--nearly one-fifth of the total--would be up for grabs in the tenth and last interval at the end of June. What ordinarily would be the 7th primary date would be switched with the 4th primary date, to give all the big states a chance at having an earlier primary. As the political stakes increased every two weeks, a steady weeding-out process would occur, as less successful campaigns reached the point at which they were no longer competitive in these larger contests.
Click here for more information on the American Plan.
For more information on the different proposals, visit Ops-Alaska.
Also, take a look at FairVote executive director Rob’s Richie March 2004 commentary outlining a range of reform proposals for presidential primaries.
Rob Richie participates in a Century Foundation Forum on primary reform.