In 2007, the New York Times editorialized, “The presidential primary system is broken…The two parties should begin a discussion of the best reform proposals now, and plan on having a new system in place for 2012.”
Four years later, the parties have done nothing to change a system that, among other flaws, elevates the Iowa and New Hampshire votes above all other states.
A new study published in the Journal of Political Economy, which examined the 2004 presidential primary, confirmed “the often-held notion that early states have a disproportionate influence over the selection of candidates … and thus represents a significant departure from ‘one person, one vote.’”
In fact, the researchers found that voters in Iowa and New Hampshire can have as much as eight times the influence as voters in other states.
David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times that the current primary system does not just distort our democracy, it also distorts our economy – based on another study in Political Research Quarterly.
“Above all, Iowa and New Hampshire lack a single big city, at a time when large metropolitan areas are crucial to lifting economic growth,” he writes.
Leonhardt quotes Brookings vice president David Katz, “Our political tilt toward small states and small towns, in presidential campaigns and the governing that follows, is not only a quaint relic of an earlier era but a dangerous distraction at a time when national prosperity depends on urban prosperity.”
Various reforms to the presidential primary process have been suggested, such as having each region of the country kick off primary voting on a rotating basis every four years.
If you are a reader of my blog, you know how I thing the primary process should be changed. Since I vote for candidates and not the party, here is a sample of the current voting process fails us.
In NY we have closed major party primaries. Some look at opening the process by allowing independents, called blanks in NY, to ask for a party ballot at the poll, a form of Open Primaries. But I want to vote for candidates. will this type of voting allow me to take different ballots and select the candidates I want to vote for? The answer is NO.
For me an Open Primary is all candidates presented on One Ballot.
What is your change to our current different voting systems?
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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