State’s presidential primary moved up
SACRAMENTO — California will move its primary elections from June to March under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday that seeks to maximize the state’s relevance in presidential primaries.
The law takes effect in 2019 and means California’s next presidential primary will be on March 3, 2020 — Super Tuesday — just after Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina head to the polls and on the same day as some Southern states like Texas and Virginia.
The move by California lawmakers is intended to increase the state’s impact in selecting the presidential nominee by making the state one of the first to vote, versus one of the last. And that could help potential presidential hopefuls with California roots, such as
Sen. Kamala Harris and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“The Golden State will no longer be relegated to last place in the presidential nominating process,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who brought the bill idea to state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens (Los Angeles County). “Candidates will not be able to ignore the largest, most diverse state in the nation as they seek our country’s highest office.”
The bill by Lara, SB568, is not the first time the state has moved up its primary election out of frustration with California’s struggle to influence the presidential nominee.
Lawmakers first moved the presidential primary in 1996 to March 26, but other states moved their primaries or caucuses as well, putting California behind 27 other states. California held a March primary election in 2000 and 2004, as well. Then, in another attempt to jump to the front of the line, the state moved its primary to Feb. 5 in 2008, the earliest vote in state history.
However, 33 other states again moved up their elections and 15 states held elections on the same day in 2008.
The early 2008 primary saw a dramatic uptick in voter turnout as 2.4 million more voters cast ballots compared with the 2004 election, marking the highest participation rate since 1980.
Critics of the bill said moving up the primary only lengthens an already long election cycle. That includes primary elections in nonpresidential years since the new law will move legislative and congressional races to March as well.
By moving up those races, the cost to run a campaign increases because it extends the window between a primary and the November general election. That could benefit incumbent candidates in the state.
But Lara said the benefits of an earlier primary are far greater than the inconvenience of a longer election. Issues important to state voters — immigration, climate change, criminal justice reform — could not be ignored by presidential hopefuls, he said.
“We have a responsibility to drive a different agenda at the national level and promote inclusion and consensus not the politics of division,” Lara said.