Friday, October 17, 2014

Nationwide Congressional Primary Day in June




Currently, states set their own congressional primary dates, and they range from March to September.

Louisiana has abolished congressional primaries and merely holds an election for Congress in November.  All candidates from all parties appear on that ballot.  If no one gets 50%, there is a runoff in December.

To boost voter participation in primaries, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) proposes that all states move their primaries to a single, national primary day in June, essentially a “mega-super-Tuesday.”  A common national primary day, says BPC, would “increase media attention and awareness, potentially leading to more participation.”

The call for a national primary day is one among a comprehensive array of recommendations from a new report released by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Political Reform.

CLICK HERE to read the report.

Also, a group of experienced observers of Congress recommended that Congress exercise its Article One authority over congressional elections to set a nationwide primary day for congressional elections. The group also recommends June.

The authors of the recommendations include Alan Frumin, parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate; former Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, former Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, former Congressman Bob Livingston of Louisiana, former Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, and political analyst Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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