RIGHT MOVE TO PROVIDE CALIFORNIA EARLY VOTE

Presidential primaries are unique in that they play a critical role in a long process that ultimately results in our political parties determining who will be their presidential contenders. We opened the year with 12 candidates vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Just 10 weeks into the year, we are now down to two candidates who are still competing to go on to November.

We have to recognize that California, and the other Super Tuesday states, played a gigantic role in narrowing that field.

The decision by the Legislature to move the California primary from June to March was clearly centered on the desire to have California, as the most delegate-rich state in the nation, be a key player in the nominating process.

It’s important to note that the move from June to March resulted in a huge shift in the normal timeline for our local, state and congressional primary elections. With Tues

day’s primary behind us, the Democratic Party now knows who our candidates are as we move forward. We now have this time to focus on building unity around those candidates. We can take the many campaign operations that were built for primary battles and focus those volunteers and talent on our voter education, registration and engagement operations. Following the nominating convention in Milwaukee, July 13-16, we will have our top to bottom ticket ready for the even bigger and far more significant election in November.

The move from June to March did force our party to make some big changes to our traditional endorsement timelines — changes to club and committee endorsement forums, to regional caucuses and to our statewide endorsing convention. Ultimately, those resulted in minor adjustments necessary for what proved to be a beneficial shift.

It is another matter as to whether our primary voting systems can be improved or standardized. The need for systems to cast and count votes that are fair, transparent, accountable and verifiable is basic to our trust in our electoral systems. Changing the disparate, sometimes chaotic, jumble of primary elections and caucuses is easier said than done.

Each political party makes its own rules. Each of our nation’s 3,007 counties oversees its own election processes and systems. Secretaries of state supervise elections in 50 states.

This leads to caucuses and primaries with wildly different rules and dates that stretch from January to June, seemingly without rhyme or reason.

The argument for Californians to cast our votes early enough in this process to influence the outcome is clear and simple. The parties have already seen the benefit to that in this election at all levels.

For our party, California’s bounty of 494 delegates can clarify a race, identify and boost a frontrunner and distill the path to the convention. Conversely, in an early race with a crowded field, California voters may scatter their votes and reinforce the unsettled nature of the race.

For candidates, California can be both a cash cow and a daunting challenge. Donors in California contribute heavily to campaigns, while California’s expensive media markets and vast distances drain coffers.

Most importantly, California voters deserve to know that their votes and voices count. Voters in California represent a microcosm of the demographics of our nation. Too often in past elections, the millions of votes casts in California were relegated to afterthoughts in the dog days of primary elections after outcomes had been determined.

According to federal data, the Golden State is the most populous state in the nation with slightly more than 39 million people, almost one and a half times that of second-place Texas. One of every eight U.S. residents lives in California.

In this majority minority state, no one race or ethnic group constitutes a majority. Slightly younger on average than Americans overall, Californians are aging along with the baby boom. Californians live in some of the nation’s largest cities and most sparsely populated rural counties. California is home to the largest number of billionaires and the largest number of children living in poverty. Local politics range from rebel red in the northern “State of Jefferson” to the neon blue of West Los Angeles. Suburban and working families settle comfortably in a spectrum across the center.

The debate about the strategic wisdom of allowing a huge state like California to vote early and exert its influence over the outcome of elections may continue, but the debate over whether it is the right thing to do is over. It absolutely is. And it is about time.