Fed Up Lawmakers Seek to Move Up California's Presidential Primary

LOS ANGELES, CA — If you thought the 2016 Presidential race was so much fun that you can’t wait a full four years to do it again, then you’re in luck. California lawmakers are looking to move up the state’s primary by three months for the 2020 election.

It’s a move driven by frustration with the fact that the nation’s most populous state had no say in the 2016 presidential primaries. The preceding small state primaries had already determined the nominees by the time California voters cast their ballots in June last year. The theory behind the proposed change is that the earliest states to hold primaries have the most influence in shaping the policies of the candidates. According to the theory, voters in states such as Iowa and New Hampshire have an outsized influence on candidates eager to court their votes for an early lead in the race.

“California is the largest, most diverse state in the nation with one of the largest economies in the world,” said Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Garden), who wrote the legislation, Senate Bill 568. “Yet Californians’ voices are silenced when it comes to choosing presidential nominees. California is leading the nation on clean air, criminal justice reform, and expanding healthcare for all, and moving up our presidential primary will ensure our state’s voters are heard in the national debate.”

Under Senate Bill 568, Californians would vote on the third Tuesday of March, making California’s presidential primary election the third after Iowa and New Hampshire.

In addition to moving the California primary up by three months, it would also give the governor standing authority to move the election date up if other states set their primaries even earlier than California’s. That’s what happened the last time California held an early primary in 2008. Numerous other states also moved their primaries to February, nullifying any perceived advantage afforded California as an early primary state.

"A state as populous and diverse as California should not be an afterthought," Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in written statement endorsing the bill. “By holding our primary earlier, we will ensure that issues important to Californians are prioritized by presidential candidates from all political parties.”

“As the world’s sixth largest economy with the nation’s largest population, it’s absurd that California had no real say in who the presidential candidates would be,” added Assembly Speaker pro Tempore, Kevin Mullin.

Early primaries are also linked to higher voter turnout, say the bill’s supporters.

However, the major parties might have reason to discourage the bill. The Democratic Party, for example, has been able to take the California vote for granted for decades. However, if Democratic candidates had to woo liberal California voters in hard-fought early primary battles, it might make it harder for them to later sell a centrist message to court voters in swing states such as Ohio or Pennsylvania.

SB 568 will go before the Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments on Tuesday.

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