Wednesday, June 25, 2008

OUR PRIMARY SYSTEM IS FLAWED

The Democratic Party has penalized Florida and Michigan for moving their primaries earlier than the Party wanted. The Democrats had planned not to seat the delegates from these states at their convention, but were forced by Hillary Clinton to give each of the delegates half a vote and stipulated how many delegates would be given to each candidate.

Many states including Florida and Michigan wanted their primaries early so their citizens would have a greater say in who the candidates for President would be. The current system of always allowing the same states to go first seems to be unfair. If a candidate wins enough of the early primaries to win the nomination of the party, many people in the states that have late primaries feel their vote does not count.

I feel that it is wrong for the Democratic and Republican parties to dictate to the States when their primaries or caucuses must be held. Is the Democratic Party more powerful than a state? If I was the Governor of Michigan or Florida I would have told the Democratic Party that not seating the full delegation from my state was not an option. Further, I would have told them that any Party not seating our full delegation with full voting rights would have their delegate for President removed from the ballot in November.

There is another flaw in the Primary process and that is the caucus. In caucus states the desires of the people are not necessarily represented, since only a few of the qualified voters are selecting who will win the state. Then there are states like Texas which have both a general primary and a caucus. As I understand it, in the general primary all eligible voters can vote. Then later the same day all those who voted in the general primary can attend a caucus and vote a second time. Candidates receive delegates from both the general primary and the caucus. This method is very flawed. First, most voters are not able to attend the caucus. The candidate receiving the majority of votes in the general primary may not get the majority of delegates in the caucus. Therefore, I feel that caucuses do not represent the will of the people. Caucuses are a state issue. All states should do away with caucuses in any form!

Let’s get back to how and when primaries should be held. In my mind there are two options.

We could have primary elections on the same day in all states. This would allow all states and all voters to feel that their vote counts. The primary period would be shorter. However, candidates would likely visit fewer states and would have to rely on television even more.

I like a second option better. The primaries would be held on 10 dates each 2 weeks apart. The states would be divided into 10 groups, each group representing approximately the same number of delegates. Group One would vote on the first date. The second group would vote two weeks later, etc. Four years later at the next Presidential primary, group two moves to the first date, the other groups move up one place, and group one moves to the tenth date. This allows the candidates time to visit every state and focus on each state.