The Democratic National Committee and President Joe Biden are advocating for significant adjustments to their presidential nominating schedule. However, there is still a significant distance between the plan and its implementation in 2024.
Major adjustments, such as upgrading South Carolina and removing Iowa from its prestigious first place in the nation, are on schedule. However, despite the excitement surrounding the plan’s preliminary acceptance last year, some objectives, such as moving Georgia up into the early window or compelling New Hampshire to give up its long-held position as the first state with a primary, appear to be far more challenging to accomplish.
South Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Michigan, and Georgia, the five new early states, are required to provide the DNC with updates on their progress in changing their primary dates or amending their voting laws to meet DNC requirements by Thursday. It is the latest development in a protracted campaign to redistribute the disproportionate influence that voters in some states hold over the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination process, giving voters of colour a stronger voice.
However, declaring a state eligible for an early primary slot and actually securing it are two distinct processes. South Carolina and Nevada have an easy time adhering to the new calendar because South Carolina’s state party leadership controls the primary date and Nevada’s primary date is in accordance with state law. Michigan must also adjust its date, but given that Democrats currently have control of the state house, it is anticipated that they will pass a law quickly. Recently, letters to that effect were sent to the DNC by all three states.
But in New Hampshire and Georgia, where the state legislatures are under Republican control, things are more difficult.
Democrats from New Hampshire asked the DNC to “reconsider the conditions” in a letter delivered early on Thursday. They claim that the rules should take into account their actual circumstances: The Republican-controlled legislature and governor’s office would not move on changing their primary’s date or their present voter access regulations, which mandate that they have their primary one week before every other state in the union.
Currently, the DNC wants New Hampshire’s primary to be held four days after South Carolina’s vote, on the same day as Nevada. According to Ray Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, such would “run up against New Hampshire law.”
“To punish us for something we have no control over simply makes us hurt worse” said Buckley. It is my hope that, after more thought and deliberation, they will consider developing a strategy that not only elevates Black voices but also takes into account New Hampshire’s state statute.
According to state senator Regina Birdsell, a Republican from New Hampshire, “our historic tradition has been under attack by those looking to maybe repurpose it for their own political gain.” As a result, the state’s first-in-the-nation status is being strengthened by new legislation, including a state constitutional amendment.
The DNC or anyone else trying to take that away from us will be met with a violent response, according to Birdsell.
Republican Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire reaffirmed similar vow and referred to any attempts to alter it as “dead on arrival.”
Democrats in New Hampshire risk a variety of penalties, including losing half of their delegates, if they choose to hold their primary on a date that is not supported by the DNC. Candidates who conduct their campaigning in a state otherwise risk penalty. The national party chair was given extensive authority by the DNC last year to take any more “necessary steps” to enforce the new early window.
If they decide to impose sanctions of any kind, Buckley said, “clearly, we will deal with any that specifically affect us.”
Democrats will have a difficult time adjusting Georgia’s primary date as well. According to Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs, the expense to taxpayers has already forced the Georgia Secretary of State’s office to rule out the prospect of separating the Democratic and Republican primaries into two dates.
Additionally, any modifications would have to “be equal to both political parties,” Fuchs continued.
The Republican National Committee, on the other hand, decided to keep the order of its early states as is: South Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, and then Nevada. According to the RNC’s guidelines, any state that deviates from that directive will also be subject to penalties.
If you want to make this work, you need to talk to Republicans, a Georgia operative involved in the calendar process said. “Not a single Republican is declaring that they want to take up the challenge.”
The operative pointed out that Democrats “laid no foundation, no bipartisan buy-in on it” on the decision to add Georgia. “They astonished everyone,” in contrast.
The calendar that was approved in February might not be valid after 2024. This is a schedule for 2024, but not necessarily for 2028, according to one member of the Rules and Bylaws committee of the DNC who observed in private that the review procedure is already in place to reevaluate the 2028 roster by 2026.
When asked if the results of the 2024 election will set a precedent for subsequent cycles, Buckley responded, “There will be a new RBC committee and new DNC leadership, and we hope that we can appeal to them.” The several candidates who would be running or considering running in 2028, in my opinion, “would surely make their opinions heard, too.”
