Pair of Missouri Bills Would Shift Future Presidential Primaries Back to April

If you followed the saga that was the Missouri state government effort to move the Show Me state presidential primary into compliance with national party delegate selection rules last year, you are probably already more than ready to dismiss this and move.¹ [FHQ doesn't know that it blames you.] Yet, here the legislature is again -- one year later -- examining a couple of bills that would consolidate the February presidential primary with the April general municipal primaries, moving the former back to coincide with the latter.

Now, the general assembly faced a similar situation during 2011. A bill to consolidate the presidential primary with the congressional primaries in June -- moving the former from February and the latter from August -- was introduced and referred to committee but died there as other bills focused on moving the presidential primary to March took precedence.  Again, as was the case with the 2012 bill in Virginia, the prime motivating factor in introducing these bills -- HB 1962, HB 1981 -- is budgetary (...though sadly there is no information on the fiscal impact for either).²

Of course, no Missouri post would be complete without some sort of legislative roadblock. Even if legislators were/are eager to pass this legislation, they are running out of time in the second of a two session term. The General Assembly is set to adjourn in May and the deadline for bills to have emerged from committee in the chamber opposite the one where it was introduced was April 12 -- the same date that both of these bills were referred to committee. [Granted, this is an appropriations bill of sorts since it deals with a matter that would seemingly reduce the costs of elections. The deadline for those bills to have passed -- as in the next stop is the governor's desk -- is May 11.] The fact that this is the second of two legislative session is important because the bills will not be able to carry over to the next session (not that they can be in Missouri anyway).

In other words, don't expect the Missouri primary to be moved in 2012 with 2016 in mind. It will be 2015 before any of this is likely relevant again. But flag this post and refer back to it when we get there. It may serve as the nexus of another strange journey through the Missouri General Assembly.

--
¹ For more click on the Missouri label and scroll (and scroll) through the backlog of Missouri posts from 2011. It's a long and winding road.

² Both bills were introduced by Republicans in the Republican-controlled Missouri House. That matters in the future depending on who wins the general election in the fall. If Obama wins reelection, then both parties will have active nomination races in 2016 and Republicans (and Democrats) in the legislature may be motivated to do something about the scheduling of the presidential primary (depending on the rules and penalties from the national parties). However, if Romney wins in November and the Missouri legislature remains in Republican control, then nothing may happen with the primary. Republicans won't necessarily be motivated to tinker with the date of the presidential primary if they don't have a dog in the fight.

Recent Posts:
House-Passed Bill in Virginia to Consolidate Primaries in Presidential Election Years to Be Considered in 2013 in State Senate

Race to 1144: Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Primary

A Few Notes on the RNC Meeting and the 2016 Rules

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

House-Passed Bill in Virginia to Consolidate Primaries in Presidential Election Years to Be Considered in 2013 in State Senate

File this one under "bills that were active in 2012 and may eventually have an impact on 2016". [Were being the operative word.]

The Virginia General Assembly considered during its 2012 legislative session -- back in January and February -- a bill to consolidate its presidential primary and the primaries for state and local offices. The legislation -- HB 55 -- would, for the time being, keep the presidential primary on the first Tuesday in March and primaries for state and local offices in midterm years on the second Tuesday in June. However, the bill would move the presidential year primaries for state and local offices to coincide with the presidential primary.¹ The impact statement indicates that the measure would not save the state any substantial amount from a budgetary perspective but would have the "potential" to aid local governments in their efforts in conducting the elections.

HB 55 passed the state House by a nearly 3:1 margin in January and was then referred to the state Senate. While the 2012 session adjourned, the bill will be carried over to the 2013 session where it will then be considered by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections.

--
The true impact of this is negligible in terms of the presidential primary and Virginia's place on the 2016 presidential primary calendar, but it should be noted that this does potentially alter -- assuming the HB 55 passes and is signed into law in 2013 -- the calculus for those candidates seeking nomination to either chamber of Congress or local offices. What I mean by that is that with the move to hold those primaries concurrently with the presidential primary comes a relative increase in the level of turnout for the primaries for offices other than president. Those candidates who traditionally thrive in low turnout environments will have to adjust to a higher turnout setting. This is more of an issue for those down-ballot races that will also have to deal with ballot roll off anyway.

File this one away though. It is more important in that it fits with another emerging characteristic of primary movement in the 2012 cycle: budgetary constraints of conducting elections. This fits in nicely with other states that consolidated primaries for 2012: Alabama, Arkansas, California, New Jersey and Utah (Republicans).

--
¹ Virginia election law refers to these primaries as the "primaries for the nomination of candidates for offices to be voted on at the general election date in November". These are primaries more for local offices than state offices. Most of the latter are voted on and nominated in odd year elections. However, the list of offices that would have their primaries shifted up to and earlier date does include members of the Virginia congressional delegation -- both US House and Senate.

Recent Posts:
Race to 1144: Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Primary

A Few Notes on the RNC Meeting and the 2016 Rules

2012 Republican Delegate Allocation: Pennsylvania

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

August Presidential Primary Resurrected in Kentucky Legislation

FHQ dealt with this in great detail last year when a bill to move the Kentucky presidential primary to August passed the Republican-controlled state Senate. The experience of having that legislation die in the Democratic-controlled House has not dissuaded Senate Republicans from pursuing the idea again though.  Senate President David Williams (R-16th) has introduced SB 7 -- legislation similar to the bill last year -- which would shift the Kentucky presidential primary (and those for state and local offices not elected in off-years) from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August.

Section 8 of SB 7:

(1)       Subject to KRS 118.555, on the first Tuesday after the first[third] Monday in August[May], in each presidential election year, the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall conduct presidential preference primaries[primary elections] within each political party.

As FHQ said of the bill last year:

The stated intent of the bill is to free up the legislature to focus on their work -- at least the controversial work -- without fear of being challenged in a primary by an opponent who entered the race because of a vote on a contentious piece of legislation. The filing deadline is in January for the May primary and many Kentucky legislators apparently wait until after the filing deadline and know who, if anyone, they will be facing off against in May before addressing potentially divisive legislation. And with the legislative session ending in March, the overall efficiency of activity in the legislature can be negatively affected.

See "Kentucky Moving to August" for much more than you would otherwise want to know about the implications of such a move.

...and no, this bill is not any more likely to get through the Democratic-controlled House or be signed into law by the Democratic governor than its predecessor.


Recent Posts:
Divining the Meaning of Illinois

Santorum Has Rule #40 Problems, Too

Race to 1144: Illinois Primary

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Conditional on Other States, Colorado GOP May Move Caucuses to February 7

Ernest Luning of The Colorado Statesman is reporting that the Colorado Republican Party is entertaining the idea of moving up its presidential nominating caucuses to February 7 depending on how other states position themselves on the calendar. Said state Republican Party chair, Ryan Call:

“We’re waiting to see what Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada do,” Call said. “The law permits us to move up to the first Tuesday in February, and we might consider that if a number of other states depart and (Republican National Committee) rules permit us to do so.”

When FHQ described the Colorado legislature's successful attempts earlier this year to move the Centennial state's caucuses up two weeks to the first Tuesday in March from the third Tuesday in March, we failed to discuss the portion of the law Call mentioned. Mainly, that was a function of the fact that that particular passage in the law was not being altered in the legislation considered and ultimately passed. And Colorado, never a threat to go rogue in the past, further did not seem likely to defy national party rules by invoking that part of the law. All the while, though, the possibility was always there.

That segment was added ahead of the 2008 cycle, giving both parties in Colorado the option of moving up to what was -- in 2008 -- the earliest date the national parties were allowing non-exempt states to hold contests.

I have said many times in the past that there would not be a stampede of states to the front of the calendar, and while FHQ still maintains that that is the case now, there are a handful of caucus states that may decide to up the ante and move into February. And they may or may not be compliant with the RNC rules as a result. Much will depend on how those states decide to allocate delegates. If the precinct level is non-binding, then the contest will be compliant (see Iowa and Nevada on the GOP side in 2008). If delegates are allocated during the initial phase of the caucus/convention process (see Wyoming, 2008), those states would be in violation of the rules. In the case of the Colorado Republican Party, those delegates are left unpledged (or were in 2008).

All this means is that we are getting closer and closer to a January (if not December) start to the primary calendar.

Recent Posts:

West Virginia Republican Chair Calls for Presidential Primary to be Moved Up

Sigh: Cite Your Sources, CNN

Michigan Republicans Eye Late February/Early March Primary

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

New Jersey Senate Unanimously Passes Bill Eliminating Separate Presidential Primary

The New Jersey state Senate this afternoon substituted A 3777 for the identical S 2883 and then unanimously passed -- by a vote of 39-0 -- the bill to eliminate the separate presidential primary. The impact of this legislation will essentially be to move the New Jersey presidential primary from the first Tuesday in February to the first Tuesday in June, concurrent with the primaries for statewide and local offices.

This vote was the last legislative hurdle for the bill and it will now head to Governor Chris Christie (R) for his consideration. Christie has indicated some support for the idea in the past.

Recent Posts:

Delaware House Committee Advances April Presidential Primary Legislation

Idaho Republicans Considering Super Tuesday Caucuses

Rhode Island Senate Passes House-Amended, April Presidential Primary Bill

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

New Jersey Senate Budget Committee Sends Bills to Eliminate Separate Presidential Primary to the Floor

The New Jersey state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee this morning voted in favor of S 2883 and A 3777, the bills that would eliminate the separate February presidential primary. Both identical bills would return the presidential primary to the first Tuesday in June to be held concurrently with the primaries for statewide and local offices. Eleven of the thirteen committee members voted for a bill (bills including the simultaneously considered Senate version) that unanimously passed the state Assembly in May.¹

Having passed the committee hurdles in the Senate,² the bills now head to the floor for consideration by the full upper house. Both are expected to pass.

--

¹ The way the committee tabulated the votes in realtime on the audio feed during the hearing was to count the votes in the affirmative. The remaining two members either voted no or abstained. Once FHQ has a better idea of the complete final vote tally, we'll update the post. Regardless, there was more than enough support for the bills to pass them.

² Due to the fiscal ramifications in these bills -- a savings of $12 million -- both had to go through the State Government Committee and then the Budget Committee as well.

Recent Posts:

Gubernatorial Signature Expected on New York Presidential Primary Bill

What's Happening with the Funding of the South Carolina Primary?

Ohio Senate Votes in Favor of Shifting Presidential Primary to May

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Alabama Presidential Primary to March 13

[Click to Enlarge]

Lost in the shuffle of all the other bills Governor Bob Bentley signed on June 9 was HB 425, the bill to move the Alabama presidential primary to the second Tuesday in March from the first Tuesday in February. The legislation also shifts the primaries for state and local offices up from the first Tuesday in June to coincide with the presidential primary; a move that will save the state nearly $4 million. Alabama will join western neighbor, Mississippi, with a presidential primary on the second Tuesday in March.

Alabama now becomes the seventh state to move its presidential primary back to a later date in order to comply with national party rules, but the first to consolidate its presidential primary with those for state and local offices as a means of saving money.

Recent Posts:

Louisiana Senate Passes March Presidential Primary Bill, House Concurs

Delayed Louisiana Primary Bill Narrowly Passes Senate Committee Stage

Delaware Senate Votes to Pass April Presidential Primary Legislation

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

New Jersey State Senate Committee Votes in Favor of June Presidential Primary Bills

The New Jersey state Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee this afternoon voted in favor of legislation to eliminate the Garden state's separate presidential primary, combining it with the state and local primary elections during the first Tuesday in June.

On the discussion of the senate version of the bill (S 2883) Committee Vice Chair Sen. Mark Gordon (D-38th, Fair Lawn) -- a sponsor of the 2005 legislation creating the separate presidential primary -- made the point that part of the motivation for moving the primary in the first place was that such a move would net the state more attention and thus money from candidates and the media. He argued that that potential gain would offset any savings the state would have for eliminating the separate primary.

Senator Shirley Turner (D-15th, Trenton) countered that she had not voted for the 2005 bill and that she was for the elimination of the separate presidential primary, citing the fact that New Jersey has "too many elections". The committee's chair, Senator Jim Whelan (D-2nd, Northfield) came down between Turner and Gordon, having voted for the 2005 measure creating the new election while in the Assembly, but favoring the cost savings ("8 to 10 million bucks") this time around.

Votes were cast on both A 3777 -- the Assembly-passed version -- and S 2883. Both were favorably reported by 4-1 votes with Gordon the only dissenting vote in both cases. The bills will now move to the Senate floor for consideration by the full chamber.

Listen to an archived version of the vote here.

UPDATE: The bills are now off to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee before going to the floor.

Recent Posts:

The Big Advantage New Hampshire Has Over Florida on Primary Scheduling

Dogpile on Iowa and New Hampshire ...Again.

Companion Bill to Move Presidential Primary to April Introduced in Wisconsin Senate

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in

Governor Bentley Sends Amended Alabama Primary Bill Back to Legislature

On Tuesday, May 31, Governor Robert Bentley (R) returned HB 425 to the Alabama state legislature. The move is more of a speed bump along the way toward the ultimate enactment of this legislation than any major obstruction. In other words, the governor's move is not a signal of an upcoming veto. The intent of the bill is to consolidate the presidential primaries and the primaries for state and local offices on the second Tuesday in March. However, as passed, there would have been some conflicting language in the Alabama statutes as to the scheduling of the primaries. As such, the governor has offered an amendment to the bill:

Section 2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, in any year in which the primary election is held in March and the primary election is held in conjunction with the presidential preference primary election, as provided in this Act, any reference in any existing statutes to a primary election being held in June shall be construed to refer to the primary election in March.

The House concurred with the changes called for in the executive amendment and now the state Senate will presumably have to follow suit before the bill heads back to the governor for his consideration and likely signature.

UPDATE: The Senate has now voted on and concurred with the executive amendment.

Recent Posts:

Bill to Move Delaware Presidential Primary to April Introduced in State Senate

Bill Introduced to Move Wisconsin Presidential Primary from February to April

Idaho Democrats to Caucus on April 14

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Colorado Presidential Caucuses Move to March 6

Governor John Hickenlooper on Friday, May 27, signed a host of legislation into law. Among them was SB 189, a bill that not only moves the primaries for state and local offices from September to June, but shifts the precinct caucuses used in the Centennial state for allocating national convention delegates up by two weeks as well. Those caucuses, moved temporarily into February for the 2008 cycle reverted to their third Tuesday in March date afterwards. As a provision of SB 189, though, Colorado will now hold precinct-level caucuses commencing the allocation of presidential delegates on the first Tuesday in March. That March 6 date is evolving into the -- national party-intended -- Super Tuesday for 2012.

[Click to Enlarge]

You can find an updated version of FHQ's 2012 presidential primary calendar here.

Recent Posts:

Georgia Democrats Assume a March 6 Presidential Primary in Delegate Selection Plan

Rank and File Passion vs. Establishment Support: Cain vs. Pawlenty

Ohio Senate and House at Odds Over Presidential Primary Date

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Alabama Senate Passes Bill to Consolidate All Primaries in March

UPDATE: Perhaps I was too hard on Alabama legislators in the original update below. As it turns out, HB 425 moves the Alabama primaries to the second Tuesday in March which coincides with the Mississippi primary on March 13. This sets up an interesting series of contests from March 6-13. Texas would anchor the March 6 set of southern primaries with Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia. That would be followed by Louisiana (assuming the move there is completed) on Saturday, March 10 and Alabama and Mississippi on March 13 the following Tuesday.

Thanks to Richard Winger at Ballot Access News for pointing out our error.

--

Original Post:

The Alabama Senate voted this afternoon in favor of HB 425. The legislation would shift the presidential primary back from the first Tuesday in February to the first second Tuesday in March and the primaries for state and local offices up from the first Tuesday in June to the same March date. The move will save the state nearly $4 million if Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) signs the legislation. The bill passed 21-11 and now heads to the governor's desk for his consideration.

Alabama joins both Colorado and Missouri as states where legislatures have passed measures moving 2012 delegate selection events to March 6. All three are awaiting gubernatorial approval. As of today the legislation in Colorado and Missouri has been officially passed on to the governors in the respective states. Alabama and Missouri would move into compliance with national party rules while Colorado would be bumped up by two weeks to the earliest allowed date under national party delegate selection rules. Together, all three bills are expected to be signed.

UPDATE: Here are a couple of quotation from Alabama senators on the move (via Jason Cannon at The Demopolis Times):

“This legislation will help save Alabama taxpayer-dollars by having Alabama primary election on the same day as the Presidential Primary elections, and put the tax dollars of hard working Alabamians to better use,” said Senator Scott Beason (R – Jefferson). “Alabama will once again be at the forefront of national attention during the presidential election process as more national candidates will come to Alabama since we will be an early primary state,” Beason added.

Senate Majority leader Jabo Waggonner (R-Vestavia), said, “by moving the Alabama Primary election to the same day as the Presidential Primary election we will save the state of Alabama $3.9 million dollars.”

At some point state legislators are going to wise up to this "earlier equals more attention" mindset. Granted, Alabama legislators are merely attempting to keep with or slightly ahead of the curve. The chances that the state receives any more than the 13 candidate visits it received in 2008 are pretty low. March 6 will be slightly less crowded in 2012 than February 5 was in 2008, but it won't translate into a significant gain in terms of attention for the state. Holding a primary a week later, on March 13, with western neighbor, Mississippi, might be a more advantageous position. Admittedly, that might be a gamble if it appears as if the nomination will be decided on or before March 6. But we're too far out to know that with any level of certainty.

Recent Posts:

Michigan Democrats Call on State Republicans to Cancel Presidential Primary

Louisiana House Unanimously Passes Bill to Move Presidential Primary to March

Texas Presidential Primary to Stay on March 6

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Companion Bill to Eliminate Separate Presidential Primary Introduced in New Jersey Senate

On Thursday, May 19, Senator Donald Norcross (D-5th, Audubon) introduced S2883. The bill, like its Assembly-passed counterpart, A3777, would eliminate the separate presidential primary and consolidate that election with the primaries for state and local offices on the first Tuesday in June. It is not clear why a fourth bill with the same intent was necessary, when 1) there is already a Senate bill with the exact same language that was introduced in the 2010 state legislative session and is still active and 2) the Assembly-passed legislation is already in the state Senate awaiting consideration in the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee. On the first question, Michael Symons mentions that it is customary for legislation to have a sponsor from the majority party in the chamber. The previously introduced legislation (S71) was and is still under Republican sponsorship. That also indirectly answers the second point.

Both this bill and the A3777 will be considered at the next State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee meeting on June 2.

Recent Posts:

Time Running Out, House & Senate at Odds on Texas Primary Decision

The 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar (5/19/11)

Governor Scott Signs Florida Elections Bill, Creates Presidential Preference Primary Date Selection Committee

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Missing the Point: A Follow Up on the Bill to Move the North Carolina Primary to March

As FHQ mentioned earlier today, the North Carolina Senate Judiciary (I) Committee considered S 440 at one of its bi-weekly meetings this morning. Again, this is the bill that would create a separate presidential primary in the Tarheel state and schedule it for the first Tuesday in March. Some of the information that came out of the meeting was predictable while the other parts of the discussion indicated a fundamental misunderstanding of the mechanics behind the formation of the current presidential primary calendar.

First of all, cost came up. According to the State Board of Elections executive director, Gary Bartlett, the price tag a separate presidential primary election would be $5 million, with counties shouldering most of the load.

And the bill's sponsor, Senator Andrew Brock (R-34th, Davie and Rowan), made a statement as well:

“Our issues haven’t been made relevant,” Brock told a Senate Judiciary Committee looking into the bill on Tuesday.

“The campaign is actually already happening here,” Brock said, referring to advertising that goes on in markets near the South Carolina border for that state’s earlier February primary. “But we just don’t have the impact as far as having our voice heard as North Carolinians.”

True, but that's where the train ran off the tracks.

On moving up earlier than the first Tuesday in March (see audio clip): "And the one reason it's in March is 'cause if we move up in to February all the other states will move up."¹

It is that idea coupled with the notion above of making North Carolina issues relevant in the presidential campaign that completely misses the mark. First, if North Carolina were to move its primary up, ideally the primary would fall on a date on which no other states (or very few other states) were also scheduled. That maximizes your state's potential influence and the amount of time candidates in a competitive race spend there. That's what happened in both of the examples of North Carolina's past presidential primary relevance that were cited. In 1976, North Carolina had March 23 all to itself, among the earliest primaries in that cycle. The contest proved vital to keeping Ronald Reagan's campaign for the Republican nomination alive. And in 2008, the competitive Democratic nomination between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton rolled into North Carolina in early May and the Tarheel state only had one other state to compete with, Indiana.

But this legislation proposes moving North Carolina to a date that was already occupied by five states and could see that total double in the very near future if Alabama and Missouri pass or sign legislation, respectively to move their February contests back to March 6. That's not a recipe that will yield a 1976 or a 2008 for North Carolina. No, with that many contests, that will end up recreating the scenario North Carolina saw the last time it moved its presidential primary up to an earlier date, 1988. That first Southern Super Tuesday was so effective that North Carolina immediately scrapped the separate March primary and has been scheduled in May, concurrent with the primaries for state and local offices ever since (1992-2008).

The only other news item that emerged from this committee hearing was that Democratic senator, Josh Stein, mentioned -- as did others -- that he wouldn't sign off on any move like this (moving to March) unless it meant that all the primaries moved up, saving the aforementioned $5 million. There was, then, enough evidence today that there is a moderate level of support for the idea and if the bill is amended so that all the primaries move up, it could happen. But North Carolina won't get the bang for its buck or even the attention they want from this move if state legislators merely join the logjam on March 6. Granted it won't be a February 5, 2008 logjam, but it will be a logjam nonetheless. North Carolina, looking like a swing state for the 2012 general election and among the bigger states scheduled for that date (assuming a move), would be able to gain more attention perhaps, but not as much as if they had a date to themselves. And that's something that is far less than guaranteed at the front end of the calendar.

--

¹ Other states are just as similarly constrained as North Carolina is. Legislative sessions across the country are drawing to a close as summer approaches and the ability to propose, much less pass, legislation is shrinking as well.

Recent Posts:

Amendments to Connecticut Presidential Primary Bill Would Move It Back to April

North Carolina Senate Committee Meeting Today to Discuss Bill Moving Presidential Primary to March

Texas House Committee Report with April Presidential Primary Provision is Posted

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Maryland Presidential Primary to April 3

On Tuesday May 10, Governor Martin O'Malley (D) signed HB 671, moving the presidential primary in Maryland from the second Tuesday in February to the first Tuesday in April. This completes the dismantling of the Potomac Primary from the 2008 cycle. Virginia previously moved from the same February date to the first Tuesday in March and the District of Columbia last month shifted the date of its primary to the first Tuesday in April. Maryland, then, will join its neighbor to the south in April.

That date is currently shared by Kansas (legislation there seeks to cancel the Sunflower state's primary) and may, depending on how the process unfold in Texas, be joined later by the Lone Star state.

Due to this date change, Maryland Republicans will be able to maintain its winner-take-all delegate allocation and Maryland Democrats will be able to take advantage of increased delegates for holding a later contest.

[Click to Enlarge]

NOTE: With Maryland, Virginia and Washington (DC) now officially scheduled for new dates, February 14 is clear for New Hampshire (assuming all the other February states comply with the national party rules, of course).

See the updated 2012 presidential primary calendar here.

Thanks to Matt Verghese for passing this news along.

Recent Posts:

Missouri House Throws Another March Primary Committee Substitute at Senate

The 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar (5/10/11)

Tennessee Presidential Primary to March 6

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

New Jersey Assembly Unanimously Passes June Presidential Primary Bill

In the process of clearing its Consent Calendar for the day, the New Jersey Assembly unanimously passed (7675-0) without debate A 3777, the bill to eliminate the separate presidential primary in the Garden state. The legislation would have the impact of consolidating the presidential primary with the primaries for state and local offices during the first Tuesday in June and also carry with it a costs savings of approximately $12 million.

The bill now moves to the Democratic-controlled state Senate -- the House is under Democratic control as well -- where it, if the bipartisan support in the House is any indication, will easily pass and move on to Governor Chris Christie (R). The governor previously has indicated some support of the budgetary savings from the move.

Recent Posts:

Missouri Senate Presidential Primary Bill is Off to Conference Committee

Florida Senate Passes House Primary Bill

New Jersey Assembly State Government Committee Unanimously Passes Bill to Move Primary Back to June

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

New Jersey Assembly State Government Committee Unanimously Passes Bill to Move Primary Back to June

FHQ just got finished listening in on the New Jersey Assembly State Government Committee's very quick consideration of A 3777. The bill that would shift the Garden state's presidential primary back to June was first introduced by its sponsor, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-19th, Sayreville). He prefaced his comments by saying that New Jersey had moved its primary in (2005 and) 2007 as a means of creating a "unique" opportunity for the state's contest, but it was less unique when other states had the same idea. That said, Wisniewski stressed the need to change the date based on the rules changes both the RNC and DNC instituted a year ago and then made the case for June based on the cost savings alone.

No one followed the assemblyman's comments with any testimony and the members of the committee praised the legislation's cost savings before voting unanimously (5-0) to recommend the bill for passage by the full assembly.

Recent Posts:

Bill to Cancel Kansas Primary is Off to Conference Committee

Florida Senate Poised to Create Presidential Preference Primary Date Setting Committee

New Jersey Assembly Committee Set to Examine Moving Presidential Primary Today

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

New Jersey Assembly Committee Set to Examine Moving Presidential Primary Today

From PolitickerNJ:

The Assembly State Government Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to consider legislation (A-3777) sponsored by Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) to move New Jersey’s presidential primary election back to June.

This is one of three bills (two in the Assembly and one in the Senate) that would eliminate the separate presidential primary, placing it back in June with the primaries for state and local offices. That had been the traditional date for the presidential primary throughout the post-reform era (1972-present) until the 2008 cycle. It has been estimated that consolidating the two sets of contests would save the Garden state approximately $12 million.

Governor Chris Christie (R) has signalled that he is in favor of the cost-savings. If the bill passes the Democratic-controlled legislature, then, it will likely be signed into law.

Recent Posts:

A Typo That Really Needs to Be Fixed

Missouri Senate Presidential Primary Bill Now Heads Back to the Senate After House Passed with Amendments

The 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar (5/3/11)

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Colorado House Passes Senate Bill to Move Presidential Nominating Caucuses Up

The Colorado House today passed SB 189. The legislation not only moves the Centennial state's presidential nominating caucuses from the third Tuesday in March to the first Tuesday in March, but also shifts the primaries for state and local offices from the second Tuesday in August to the last Tuesday in June. The latter provision brings Colorado into compliance with the mandates put in place by the federal MOVE act (It requires states to allow for a 45 day window in which military personnel abroad can vote. There would not have been enough time in Colorado, for instance, to finalize the general election ballot after the August primary and still get the ballots off to those in the military without cutting into that 45 day window.).

The bill has now passed both houses of the General Assembly and heads off to the desk of Governor John Hickenlooper for his consideration.

Recent Posts:

Oklahoma to March 6

DC to April 3

Barring a Mayoral Veto, DC Will Move Primaries to April 3 Tomorrow

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

DC to April 3

Slightly contrary to the immediately prior post, Washington DC mayor, Vincent Gray, signed B19-90 on Wednesday, April 27, moving both the presidential primary and the primaries for district-wide offices to the first Tuesday in April. The mayor had acted on Wednesday unbeknownst to FHQ -- and other media outlets -- but the DC Council's web page for the legislation had yet to be updated to reflect that as of Thursday of last week.

DC, then, moves to April 3, 2012.

[Click to Enlarge]

And for the record, we are awaiting gubernatorial action on several other bills across the country, including:

Move to March 6:

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Move to April 3:

Maryland

Give the Secretary of State the power to set the primary date:

Georgia

Cancel the 2012 Presidential Primary:

Washington

See the updated 2012 presidential primary calendar here.

Recent Posts:

Barring a Mayoral Veto, DC Will Move Primaries to April 3 Tomorrow

The 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar (4/26/11)

Alabama House Votes to Move Presidential/Other Primaries to March

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.

Barring a Mayoral Veto, DC Will Move Primaries to April 3 Tomorrow

The deadline for Washington DC mayor, Vincent Gray, to act on B19-90, the bill to move both the presidential primaries and the primaries for district offices to the first Tuesday in April in presidential election years is tomorrow, Friday, April 29. The DC Council passed the bill back on April 5 and transmitted the legislation to the mayor on April 14. After that point, the mayor has three options: 1) sign the bill in which case it becomes an act, 2) do nothing in which case it becomes an act, or 3) veto the bill in which case the council can choose to override the veto.

Given that the mayoral review period has almost concluded, the most likely action -- inaction, really -- is for the mayor to do nothing, thus enacting the law. Now, technically, the act would then go to the US Congress for review as well, but on non-controversial legislation like this, that should prove to be nothing more than a formality. That has been the case in the past anyway.

For our purposes here at FHQ, DC will move to the April 3 line on the calendar should Mayor Gray fail to act on B19-90 tomorrow.

Recent Posts:

The 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar (4/26/11)

Alabama House Votes to Move Presidential/Other Primaries to March

North Dakota Democrats Choose June Caucuses for 2012

Are you following FHQ on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook? Click on the links to join in.