Kansas Democrats are not planning at the moment to make any changes to their Saturday, May 2 party-run primary.
And that is because, the party, like those in Hawaii and Wyoming has an insurance policy: mail-in voting. As in Hawaii and Wyoming, Kansas Democrats, too, had a pre-existing mail-in option in place as part of their original delegate selection plan. It was part of the the party's response to new Rule 2 encouragements to increase participation from the DNC for the 2020 cycle. That uniquely positions these states to lean on those mail-in options in lieu of in-person voting amid the coronavirus outbreak without having to change much about what they are doing.
Alaska also has a party-run primary with a mail-in option, but unlike Hawaii, Kansas and Wyoming, Alaska is not mailing out ballots to all registered Democrats in the state. Again, that uniquely positions the above trio of states to quickly and easily respond to the crisis. They were all already planning on mailing ballots to all Democrats in the state. Alaskans are not without that option. But Democrats in the Last Frontier have to request a ballot and have it postmarked by this coming Tuesday, March 24.
But for now in Kansas, Democrats are holding pat with their originally laid out delegate selection plan -- including in-person voting -- but are encouraging the use of the mail-in option.
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March 17 Kansas Democratic Party press release on party-run presidential primary archived here.
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Related Posts:
Kansas Democrats Eliminate In-Person Voting in May 2 Party-Run Presidential Primary
Showing posts with label coronavirus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coronavirus. Show all posts
Friday, March 20, 2020
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Puerto Rico Legislation Would Shift Presidential Primary Back to April or Beyond
The Puerto Rico legislative assembly acted quickly on the heels of a call from the Puerto Rico Democratic Party to change the date of the March 29 presidential primary on the island territory. Just two days after the request for a change from Democratic Party chair, Charles Rodriguez, the Senate introduced and passed a bill to push back the date of the Puerto Rico Democratic primary to minimize the potential for further spread of the coronavirus.
The bill -- S 488 -- would shift the Democratic primary from Sunday, March 29 to the last Sunday in April, April 26. But what was presented as an alternative path for the primary was also included in this legislation on top of the change to April 26. Should that date not get the election out of harm's way, then the state Elections Commission in consultation with the chair of the Democratic Party would select an alternative date for the contest.
Again, an even later date would not necessarily interfere with the Puerto Rico Democratic Party delegate selection plan as it is constructed for delegate selection. District delegate candidates will be listed on the ballot whenever the election is held. And a May 31 state convention is scheduled to select PLEO and at-large delegates. It is only if the election is pushed past that point that a change would run afoul of the selection process set forth in the party's delegate selection plan.
S 488 now moves on to the House for its consideration. The Puerto Rico Democratic primary remains set for just ten days from now.
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Related Posts:
Governor Vazquez's Signature Pushes Puerto Rico Democratic Presidential Primary Back a Month
The bill -- S 488 -- would shift the Democratic primary from Sunday, March 29 to the last Sunday in April, April 26. But what was presented as an alternative path for the primary was also included in this legislation on top of the change to April 26. Should that date not get the election out of harm's way, then the state Elections Commission in consultation with the chair of the Democratic Party would select an alternative date for the contest.
Again, an even later date would not necessarily interfere with the Puerto Rico Democratic Party delegate selection plan as it is constructed for delegate selection. District delegate candidates will be listed on the ballot whenever the election is held. And a May 31 state convention is scheduled to select PLEO and at-large delegates. It is only if the election is pushed past that point that a change would run afoul of the selection process set forth in the party's delegate selection plan.
S 488 now moves on to the House for its consideration. The Puerto Rico Democratic primary remains set for just ten days from now.
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Related Posts:
Governor Vazquez's Signature Pushes Puerto Rico Democratic Presidential Primary Back a Month
June 2 Presidential Primary Date Grows with Addition of Connecticut
Connecticut state officials including Governor Ned Lamont (D) and Secretary of State Denise Merrill (D) on Thursday, March 19 opted to push back the primary in the Nutmeg state to June 2.
Like Maryland two days earlier, the Connecticut presidential primary moves back five weeks from April 28 and joins a group of states with enough delegates at stake to now become the second-most delegate-rich state on the 2020 presidential primary calendar. For a state that first started conducting presidential primaries -- rather than caucuses -- in 1980, this is the latest Connecticut will have conducted a primary in the post-reform era. A Connecticut primary was never later than March until after the 2008 cycle, when the primary was shifted to the late April position it had occupied from 2012-2020 until today.
In moving the primary, Connecticut becomes the latest state to respond to the rise of the coronavirus threat by delaying its presidential primary. That number has now expanded to six -- Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio -- and is likely to increase further in the coming days.
And like the other states, the change will have some effect on not only the timing of the delegate allocation from Connecticut but also the delegate selection process there. Connecticut Democrats are one of the few states that select district delegates in district caucuses organized by the campaigns themselves. That is a burden on campaigns in normal circumstances much less when the primary date is moving around. Those campaigns-organized district caucuses were to have taken place on May 27, nearly a month after the initial primary date, April 28. But with a June 2 primary, that may create an obstacle for the state party: move ahead with the delegate selection at that time and select slates of delegate candidates to fill any allocated slots won during the June 2 primary or delay that selection of district delegates until after the primary.
The statewide delegates will present fewer problems. PLEO and at-large delegates are scheduled to be selected by the state party committee -- and not any state convention or quorum of district delegates -- on June 10. That is a late enough point of selection to fall after the new early June primary date. And June 10 may also serve as a reasonable point on the delegate selection calendar to which to shift the district caucuses to select district delegates.
Regardless, the June 2 date not only keeps Connecticut in compliance with national party rules, but it allows the party some latitude in how to reformulate the delegate selection process.
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The new Connecticut presidential primary date has been added to the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
Like Maryland two days earlier, the Connecticut presidential primary moves back five weeks from April 28 and joins a group of states with enough delegates at stake to now become the second-most delegate-rich state on the 2020 presidential primary calendar. For a state that first started conducting presidential primaries -- rather than caucuses -- in 1980, this is the latest Connecticut will have conducted a primary in the post-reform era. A Connecticut primary was never later than March until after the 2008 cycle, when the primary was shifted to the late April position it had occupied from 2012-2020 until today.
In moving the primary, Connecticut becomes the latest state to respond to the rise of the coronavirus threat by delaying its presidential primary. That number has now expanded to six -- Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio -- and is likely to increase further in the coming days.
And like the other states, the change will have some effect on not only the timing of the delegate allocation from Connecticut but also the delegate selection process there. Connecticut Democrats are one of the few states that select district delegates in district caucuses organized by the campaigns themselves. That is a burden on campaigns in normal circumstances much less when the primary date is moving around. Those campaigns-organized district caucuses were to have taken place on May 27, nearly a month after the initial primary date, April 28. But with a June 2 primary, that may create an obstacle for the state party: move ahead with the delegate selection at that time and select slates of delegate candidates to fill any allocated slots won during the June 2 primary or delay that selection of district delegates until after the primary.
The statewide delegates will present fewer problems. PLEO and at-large delegates are scheduled to be selected by the state party committee -- and not any state convention or quorum of district delegates -- on June 10. That is a late enough point of selection to fall after the new early June primary date. And June 10 may also serve as a reasonable point on the delegate selection calendar to which to shift the district caucuses to select district delegates.
Regardless, the June 2 date not only keeps Connecticut in compliance with national party rules, but it allows the party some latitude in how to reformulate the delegate selection process.
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The new Connecticut presidential primary date has been added to the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
Rhode Island Moving Toward Presidential Primary Date Change
Another April 28 primary state may be on the move.
The Rhode Island state Board of Elections voted 6-1 on Tuesday, March 17 to recommend to Governor Gina Raimondo (D) delaying the presidential primary in the Ocean state and scheduling it for June 2. The impetus for the change was the threat of further spread of coronavirus, but the Board also argued that the potential delay would allow them more time to better prepare for a possible all-mail ballot, something that Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea (D) argued for in a letter to the Board.
The one dissenting vote on the Board sided with Gorbea on not only to shifting to an all-mail ballot but to continue with the April 28 date. Gorbea cited concerns about the date change's impact on the preparations for the September primary for other offices and the general election.
But for the time being it appears as if Rhode Island will be on the move. Legal counsel for the Board was preparing a draft emergency executive order for the governor to issue to override the state law.
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This would be the latest the Rhode Island presidential primary has fallen on the calendar since the early cycles of the post-reform era. The Ocean state primary was on the very same first Tuesday in June date for both the 1976 and 1980 cycles before moving into March for 1984.
The Rhode Island state Board of Elections voted 6-1 on Tuesday, March 17 to recommend to Governor Gina Raimondo (D) delaying the presidential primary in the Ocean state and scheduling it for June 2. The impetus for the change was the threat of further spread of coronavirus, but the Board also argued that the potential delay would allow them more time to better prepare for a possible all-mail ballot, something that Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea (D) argued for in a letter to the Board.
The one dissenting vote on the Board sided with Gorbea on not only to shifting to an all-mail ballot but to continue with the April 28 date. Gorbea cited concerns about the date change's impact on the preparations for the September primary for other offices and the general election.
But for the time being it appears as if Rhode Island will be on the move. Legal counsel for the Board was preparing a draft emergency executive order for the governor to issue to override the state law.
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This would be the latest the Rhode Island presidential primary has fallen on the calendar since the early cycles of the post-reform era. The Ocean state primary was on the very same first Tuesday in June date for both the 1976 and 1980 cycles before moving into March for 1984.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Maryland Joins States Pushing Back Presidential Primaries on the Calendar
Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) on Tuesday, March 17 issued a proclamation that among other things postponed the presidential primary in the Old Line state, shifting the date from April 28 back five weeks to June 2. It will be the latest a presidential primary has been conducted in Maryland in the post-reform era and the latest a Maryland presidential primary has been held since before the state joined Super Tuesday for the 1988 cycle.
Hogan's decision throws Maryland into a growing number of states acting in response to the budding coronavirus threat. Five states now including Maryland -- Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Ohio -- have moved in recent days to delay their presidential primaries, shifting back anywhere from 35 to 77 days to avoid the window in which voters may be hunkered down at home in an effort to not spread the virus.
Unlike Kentucky and Louisiana, however, the decision in Maryland avoided running afoul of the national party rules on the timing of primaries and caucuses. While those two contests are technically too late according to those rules, the Maryland primary will fall on the last big day on which contests will be held, June 2, a week before the window closes under Democratic Party rules.
The change in the Old Line state will have some impact on the delegate selection process, but it will be pretty minimal. District delegate candidates are listed and directly elected on the primary ballot. That process, then, will move with the primary. Fortunately, Maryland is not one of the states where a quorum of district delegates is responsible for selecting at-large and PLEO delegates. Instead, it is the state central committee of the Maryland Democratic Party that makes those decisions.
However, that selection is set to take place on May 30, the weekend before the new date of the presidential primary. That leaves the state party with some options. The state party will forge ahead and select slates of at-large and PLEO delegate candidates for each remaining candidate on May 30 and fill any allocated slots after the primary. Alternatively, the party could shift back a week -- or some time after the new primary date -- and select those statewide delegates with the result of the primary in mind. Either way, this is a question that Maryland Democrats will have to answer in the coming days in the lead up to the June primary. But with no caucus/convention process to select delegates, Maryland Democrats emerge from this change with a limited number of process questions.
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Maryland proclamation postponing the presidential primary there is archived here.
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Related Posts:
Maryland Board of Elections Will Recommend an All Vote-By-Mail Presidential Primary for June 2
Hogan's decision throws Maryland into a growing number of states acting in response to the budding coronavirus threat. Five states now including Maryland -- Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Ohio -- have moved in recent days to delay their presidential primaries, shifting back anywhere from 35 to 77 days to avoid the window in which voters may be hunkered down at home in an effort to not spread the virus.
Unlike Kentucky and Louisiana, however, the decision in Maryland avoided running afoul of the national party rules on the timing of primaries and caucuses. While those two contests are technically too late according to those rules, the Maryland primary will fall on the last big day on which contests will be held, June 2, a week before the window closes under Democratic Party rules.
The change in the Old Line state will have some impact on the delegate selection process, but it will be pretty minimal. District delegate candidates are listed and directly elected on the primary ballot. That process, then, will move with the primary. Fortunately, Maryland is not one of the states where a quorum of district delegates is responsible for selecting at-large and PLEO delegates. Instead, it is the state central committee of the Maryland Democratic Party that makes those decisions.
However, that selection is set to take place on May 30, the weekend before the new date of the presidential primary. That leaves the state party with some options. The state party will forge ahead and select slates of at-large and PLEO delegate candidates for each remaining candidate on May 30 and fill any allocated slots after the primary. Alternatively, the party could shift back a week -- or some time after the new primary date -- and select those statewide delegates with the result of the primary in mind. Either way, this is a question that Maryland Democrats will have to answer in the coming days in the lead up to the June primary. But with no caucus/convention process to select delegates, Maryland Democrats emerge from this change with a limited number of process questions.
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Maryland proclamation postponing the presidential primary there is archived here.
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Related Posts:
Maryland Board of Elections Will Recommend an All Vote-By-Mail Presidential Primary for June 2
Kentucky Shifts Mid-May Primary to Late June in Response to Coronavirus
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams (R) on Monday, March 16 "exercising an emergency power granted to his Office under Kentucky law ... formally recommended to Governor Andy Beshear (D) that the elections scheduled for May 19 ... be delayed [until] June 23"
Beshear concurred with the recommendation and the primary in the Bluegrass state was shifted back five weeks to late June.
Yes, this is another coronavirus-related calendar change, but it is a move that brings with it some risks for the Kentucky Democratic Party. First of all, like Louisiana, the change positions the Kentucky primary outside of the rules-mandated window in which primaries and caucuses can occur in either party. The cut-off on the Democratic side is June 9, so a primary two weeks later in Kentucky opens the Democratic state party there to the penalties associated with a timing violation: a 50 percentage reduction in the national convention delegation to the national convention. And this is something the Democratic National Committee has raised as a warning.
And there are at least a couple of reasons for that.
One is that a June 23 primary in Kentucky comes just 20 days before the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to gavel in. That is a potential logistical nightmare for not only the credentialing process for the convention, but also the Kentucky Democratic Party and the delegates that will represent the state at the convention.
But couple that possible credentialing issue with the process of actually filling any delegate slots allocated to candidates in the June 23 Kentucky primary. That selection process as laid out in the Kentucky Democratic Party delegate selection plan was to have followed the May 19 primary. State legislative district caucuses were to have taken place on May 30 to elect delegates to the June 6 state convention where national convention delegates would be chosen.
On the one hand, keeping that same sequence -- a primary to allocate delegates completely followed by a caucus/convention process to select delegates -- is likely impossible with a June 23 primary. The last date on which any delegate selection occurs on the Democratic side this cycle is Saturday, June 20. The primary, then, comes after that and any caucus/convention process thereafter would run even closer to the start of the scheduled national convention in Milwaukee.
But on the other hand, a June 23 primary may be marginally workable if the Kentucky Democratic Party maintains the same selection sequence but have it precede the primary. In other words, rather than filling specific delegate slots for particular candidates at a state convention after the now potentially too late primary, the state party can continue with the caucus/convention process as scheduled and slate full groups of delegate candidate for any active candidate at that point. Then, the party could quickly take the results of the primaries and fill delegates slots allocated based on the primary results from those previously selected candidate slates.
No, that does not completely resolve all of the issues with such a late primary, but it would potentially mitigate some of the issues. After all, a number of states with late primaries conduct selection processes before their primaries by design with these very issues in mind.
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As a coda, there are couple of other notes. First, it should be added that the June 23 date Kentucky has chosen also violates the Republican National Committee rules on timing. June 13 is the Republican cut-off. That said, with an August convention, the RNC has a bit more latitude on this than does the DNC with a mid-July convention scheduled. Kentucky Republicans could still complete the delegate selection process in a timely enough manner to make thing work with that August convention start point.
The other thing to consider in the context of any Democratic penalties for scheduling the primary too late is that the rules do provide the state parties some cover. But it is unlikely to apply in either Kentucky's or Louisiana's cases. In both instances Republican secretaries of state acted to delay the primaries and schedule them for points on the calendar that are in violation of the national party rules. Normally, that would help a Democratic state party avoid sanction from the national party. A change made by someone of the opposite party is out of the hands of any state party.
But in both of these cases -- Kentucky and Louisiana -- Democratic governors had to and did sign off on the date changes. In other words, a Democratic official was involved in the change. It was this sort of conflict that helped sink Florida Democrats in 2008 when the Sunshine state moved to hold its primary to a position too early under the rules. The Republican-controlled Florida legislature passed the bill to move the primary and it was signed into law by a Republican governor. But Democrats in the legislature voted for the change too. The result? An initial 100 percent reduction in the Florida delegation.
Kentucky and Louisiana may not get that level of punishment given the circumstances, but they may be levied the 50 percent reduction called for in the DNC rules.
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Kentucky secretary of state press release on the primary move archived here.
Beshear concurred with the recommendation and the primary in the Bluegrass state was shifted back five weeks to late June.
Yes, this is another coronavirus-related calendar change, but it is a move that brings with it some risks for the Kentucky Democratic Party. First of all, like Louisiana, the change positions the Kentucky primary outside of the rules-mandated window in which primaries and caucuses can occur in either party. The cut-off on the Democratic side is June 9, so a primary two weeks later in Kentucky opens the Democratic state party there to the penalties associated with a timing violation: a 50 percentage reduction in the national convention delegation to the national convention. And this is something the Democratic National Committee has raised as a warning.
And there are at least a couple of reasons for that.
One is that a June 23 primary in Kentucky comes just 20 days before the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to gavel in. That is a potential logistical nightmare for not only the credentialing process for the convention, but also the Kentucky Democratic Party and the delegates that will represent the state at the convention.
But couple that possible credentialing issue with the process of actually filling any delegate slots allocated to candidates in the June 23 Kentucky primary. That selection process as laid out in the Kentucky Democratic Party delegate selection plan was to have followed the May 19 primary. State legislative district caucuses were to have taken place on May 30 to elect delegates to the June 6 state convention where national convention delegates would be chosen.
On the one hand, keeping that same sequence -- a primary to allocate delegates completely followed by a caucus/convention process to select delegates -- is likely impossible with a June 23 primary. The last date on which any delegate selection occurs on the Democratic side this cycle is Saturday, June 20. The primary, then, comes after that and any caucus/convention process thereafter would run even closer to the start of the scheduled national convention in Milwaukee.
But on the other hand, a June 23 primary may be marginally workable if the Kentucky Democratic Party maintains the same selection sequence but have it precede the primary. In other words, rather than filling specific delegate slots for particular candidates at a state convention after the now potentially too late primary, the state party can continue with the caucus/convention process as scheduled and slate full groups of delegate candidate for any active candidate at that point. Then, the party could quickly take the results of the primaries and fill delegates slots allocated based on the primary results from those previously selected candidate slates.
No, that does not completely resolve all of the issues with such a late primary, but it would potentially mitigate some of the issues. After all, a number of states with late primaries conduct selection processes before their primaries by design with these very issues in mind.
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As a coda, there are couple of other notes. First, it should be added that the June 23 date Kentucky has chosen also violates the Republican National Committee rules on timing. June 13 is the Republican cut-off. That said, with an August convention, the RNC has a bit more latitude on this than does the DNC with a mid-July convention scheduled. Kentucky Republicans could still complete the delegate selection process in a timely enough manner to make thing work with that August convention start point.
The other thing to consider in the context of any Democratic penalties for scheduling the primary too late is that the rules do provide the state parties some cover. But it is unlikely to apply in either Kentucky's or Louisiana's cases. In both instances Republican secretaries of state acted to delay the primaries and schedule them for points on the calendar that are in violation of the national party rules. Normally, that would help a Democratic state party avoid sanction from the national party. A change made by someone of the opposite party is out of the hands of any state party.
But in both of these cases -- Kentucky and Louisiana -- Democratic governors had to and did sign off on the date changes. In other words, a Democratic official was involved in the change. It was this sort of conflict that helped sink Florida Democrats in 2008 when the Sunshine state moved to hold its primary to a position too early under the rules. The Republican-controlled Florida legislature passed the bill to move the primary and it was signed into law by a Republican governor. But Democrats in the legislature voted for the change too. The result? An initial 100 percent reduction in the Florida delegation.
Kentucky and Louisiana may not get that level of punishment given the circumstances, but they may be levied the 50 percent reduction called for in the DNC rules.
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Kentucky secretary of state press release on the primary move archived here.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Ohio Presidential Primary Postponed Until June 2
After a day of back and forth on Monday, March 16, the St. Patrick's Day Ohio presidential primary has been postponed until June 2, moving the election back 11 weeks on the presidential primary calendar.
With the threat of the spread of coronavirus spiking, both Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-OH) asked an Ohio court for the authority to shift the primary election to June in order to minimize the potential for further community transmission. But the court rejected that plea later Monday only to have Governor DeWine have the Ohio health director order the polls closed on Tuesday. An early Tuesday morning challenge to that health order was rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court.
As it stands now, then, voters in Ohio will continue to be able to vote absentee in the consolidated primary election (including the presidential nomination races) and will have an in-person option on June 2. This is not the first time the Ohio presidential primary has been scheduled in June. There is a history there. The Ohio primary was on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in 1976, 1980 and again in 1992. There was even a period in 2011 when the Ohio presidential primary was scheduled for June as well because of redistricting uncertainty in the Buckeye state. [It was later shifted to Super Tuesday 2012 when the redistricting issues were resolved.]
But Ohio joins Georgia and Louisiana (and likely Puerto Rico) in changing their presidential primary dates amid the coronavirus crisis. However, Ohio followed a route to change that while it also involved the secretary of state (as in Georgia and Louisiana) also involved the courts in the state. That exchange had much to do with the timing. DeWine and LaRose were acting with much less time than Georgia and Louisiana were. The previously moved states had more of a window in which to act before their primaries occurred. In Ohio, it was only mere hours before the voting was set to commence that a final decision was made.
Given the way the Ohio Democratic delegate selection process works, however, that part of the delegate selection plan will not be affected all that much. District delegates were slated by the active campaigns back on January 7 in pre-primary district caucuses. In other words, all of the district delegate slots were filled by each campaign (or attempts were made in any event) then, and any allocated district delegate slots from the primary would be filled from those slates.
Whenever the primary is.
That minimizes the impact the primary change will have on the Democratic delegate selection process in Ohio. Furthermore, the statewide delegates -- PLEO and at-large delegates -- are not chosen in a caucus/convention process that would require repeated potential face-to-face gatherings over the next few months that would risk opening up participants to infection. Instead, it is the Ohio Democratic Party executive committee that is tasked in the party's delegate selection plan with selecting those delegates. That, too, minimizes to potential for further spread.
The only catch is that that statewide delegate selection is currently scheduled to take place on May 9. That would obviously precede the presidential primary on June 2. Either that May 9 meeting would be moved to after the presidential primary or slates of delegate candidates will be selected for each of the active campaigns at that point in May. Later, after the primary and allocation, those slots would be filled with people from those previously chosen slates.
But again, unlike other states, those are issues around which the Ohio Democratic Party can work without fear of any further repercussions from coronavirus.
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The Ohio presidential primary date change has been added to the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
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Related Posts:
Ohio Legislature Unanimously Passes Bill to Transition to Absentee Vote-By-Mail in Presidential Primary
With the threat of the spread of coronavirus spiking, both Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-OH) asked an Ohio court for the authority to shift the primary election to June in order to minimize the potential for further community transmission. But the court rejected that plea later Monday only to have Governor DeWine have the Ohio health director order the polls closed on Tuesday. An early Tuesday morning challenge to that health order was rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court.
As it stands now, then, voters in Ohio will continue to be able to vote absentee in the consolidated primary election (including the presidential nomination races) and will have an in-person option on June 2. This is not the first time the Ohio presidential primary has been scheduled in June. There is a history there. The Ohio primary was on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June in 1976, 1980 and again in 1992. There was even a period in 2011 when the Ohio presidential primary was scheduled for June as well because of redistricting uncertainty in the Buckeye state. [It was later shifted to Super Tuesday 2012 when the redistricting issues were resolved.]
But Ohio joins Georgia and Louisiana (and likely Puerto Rico) in changing their presidential primary dates amid the coronavirus crisis. However, Ohio followed a route to change that while it also involved the secretary of state (as in Georgia and Louisiana) also involved the courts in the state. That exchange had much to do with the timing. DeWine and LaRose were acting with much less time than Georgia and Louisiana were. The previously moved states had more of a window in which to act before their primaries occurred. In Ohio, it was only mere hours before the voting was set to commence that a final decision was made.
Given the way the Ohio Democratic delegate selection process works, however, that part of the delegate selection plan will not be affected all that much. District delegates were slated by the active campaigns back on January 7 in pre-primary district caucuses. In other words, all of the district delegate slots were filled by each campaign (or attempts were made in any event) then, and any allocated district delegate slots from the primary would be filled from those slates.
Whenever the primary is.
That minimizes the impact the primary change will have on the Democratic delegate selection process in Ohio. Furthermore, the statewide delegates -- PLEO and at-large delegates -- are not chosen in a caucus/convention process that would require repeated potential face-to-face gatherings over the next few months that would risk opening up participants to infection. Instead, it is the Ohio Democratic Party executive committee that is tasked in the party's delegate selection plan with selecting those delegates. That, too, minimizes to potential for further spread.
The only catch is that that statewide delegate selection is currently scheduled to take place on May 9. That would obviously precede the presidential primary on June 2. Either that May 9 meeting would be moved to after the presidential primary or slates of delegate candidates will be selected for each of the active campaigns at that point in May. Later, after the primary and allocation, those slots would be filled with people from those previously chosen slates.
But again, unlike other states, those are issues around which the Ohio Democratic Party can work without fear of any further repercussions from coronavirus.
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The Ohio presidential primary date change has been added to the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
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Related Posts:
Ohio Legislature Unanimously Passes Bill to Transition to Absentee Vote-By-Mail in Presidential Primary
Monday, March 16, 2020
Tennessee Democrats Move to Remote Congressional District Conventions
Just under two weeks since the Tennessee presidential primary and a little more than a week since the county conventions in the Volunteer state, the coronavirus has stepped in to disrupt the delegate selection process there.
District conventions were set to take place across the state this coming weekend on Saturday, March 21. County selectors, as they are called in Tennessee, were elected from respective presidential preference groups at the March 7 county conventions to attend the district conventions and select national convention delegates from those districts.
That will still happen this weekend, but the Tennessee Democratic Party "out of an abundance of caution" has moved the process to a remote teleconferencing format in order to tamp down on the spread of the virus that is causing a wave of shut downs and cancelations across the country.
Life has been greatly affected and that extends to the delegate selection process occurring quietly behind primaries and caucuses as they happen. Not many delegates have been selected yet, but the pace is getting ready to pick steam as the calendar turns to April. Tennessee joins South Carolina Democrats in making moves to limit in-person gatherings. Whether and to what extent other state parties react remains an open question at this point. But it is a developing story as the coronavirus situation evolves.
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Sunday, March 15, 2020
South Carolina Democrats Call Audible on Delegate Selection with a Thumbs Up from the DNC
This is an important story out of South Carolina from the Post and Courier's Caitlin Byrd.
Democrats in the Palmetto state had a primary on February 29 to allocate national convention delegate slots to the Democratic candidates still in the race at that time. Both former Vice President Biden and Vermont Senator Sanders qualified for delegates then.
And while that went smoothly enough in South Carolina before the tipping point in the coronavirus evolution in the United States, other Democratic state parties and other state officials have had to make adjustments to how they are conducting the delegate process. Georgia and Louisiana shifted back the dates of their respective primaries and Wyoming Democrats eliminated the in-person portion of their caucus process. But all those changes more directly affect the delegate allocation process.
What is happening under the surface of all the remaining primaries and caucuses is the delegate selection process, the process of actually filling the delegate slots allocated to the various candidates with actual human beings pledged to the candidates who won more than 15 percent of the vote in states and congressional districts across the country.
Typically, those selection processes happen in tiers of caucuses and conventions parallel to and often after the "first determining step" primaries and caucuses. Precinct meetings feed into county conventions and those select and send delegates to district and state conventions in some states. All those meetings tend to entail gatherings of enough people that would raise concerns about further community spread in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
That means that state parties are scrambling to come up with alternate plans for the multi-level selection processes. And South Carolina Democrats offer a glimpse into not only how state parties are responding to the concerns, but how the national party is being flexible in allowing state parties to act in order to carry out their delegate selection plans. In the face of likely poor turnout, the DNC has granted the South Carolina Democratic Party the ability to conduct precinct reorganization meetings (on March 14) and county conventions (held between March 20 and April 7) to be conducted virtually via Facebook Live, Skype, FaceTime or some other type of (online or otherwise) conference call.
That national party flexibility is warranted given all of the fallout from coronavirus and that all of this builds toward the district and state conventions to be held simultaneously in South Carolina on May 30.
But to be clear, this is not an issue that is unique to the Palmetto state. The selection process will be affected across the country and is a story to watch as the Covid 19 concerns evolve. The problem may not be unique and the state party response may not be either.
Democrats in the Palmetto state had a primary on February 29 to allocate national convention delegate slots to the Democratic candidates still in the race at that time. Both former Vice President Biden and Vermont Senator Sanders qualified for delegates then.
And while that went smoothly enough in South Carolina before the tipping point in the coronavirus evolution in the United States, other Democratic state parties and other state officials have had to make adjustments to how they are conducting the delegate process. Georgia and Louisiana shifted back the dates of their respective primaries and Wyoming Democrats eliminated the in-person portion of their caucus process. But all those changes more directly affect the delegate allocation process.
What is happening under the surface of all the remaining primaries and caucuses is the delegate selection process, the process of actually filling the delegate slots allocated to the various candidates with actual human beings pledged to the candidates who won more than 15 percent of the vote in states and congressional districts across the country.
Typically, those selection processes happen in tiers of caucuses and conventions parallel to and often after the "first determining step" primaries and caucuses. Precinct meetings feed into county conventions and those select and send delegates to district and state conventions in some states. All those meetings tend to entail gatherings of enough people that would raise concerns about further community spread in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
That means that state parties are scrambling to come up with alternate plans for the multi-level selection processes. And South Carolina Democrats offer a glimpse into not only how state parties are responding to the concerns, but how the national party is being flexible in allowing state parties to act in order to carry out their delegate selection plans. In the face of likely poor turnout, the DNC has granted the South Carolina Democratic Party the ability to conduct precinct reorganization meetings (on March 14) and county conventions (held between March 20 and April 7) to be conducted virtually via Facebook Live, Skype, FaceTime or some other type of (online or otherwise) conference call.
That national party flexibility is warranted given all of the fallout from coronavirus and that all of this builds toward the district and state conventions to be held simultaneously in South Carolina on May 30.
But to be clear, this is not an issue that is unique to the Palmetto state. The selection process will be affected across the country and is a story to watch as the Covid 19 concerns evolve. The problem may not be unique and the state party response may not be either.
Georgia Postpones Presidential Primary, Consolidates with May Primaries
On Saturday, March 14 -- just ten days before the scheduled Georgia presidential primary -- Secretary of State Raffensperger (R) postponed the presidential primary in the Peach state due to concerns over the spread of Covid-19. Said Raffensperger:
Importantly, Georgia voters will have options given the change. Those who have already cast early ballots for the previously scheduled March presidential primary will be able to vote again if they choose. But Georgia voters will also be able to let their previously cast early ballots count toward the May 19 presidential primary race if they want. That latter option would mean casting a vote in the presidential race but ceding down ballot votes for other offices.
Unlike Louisiana, which changed its primary date on Friday, the Georgia presidential primary moved back but stayed within the window established the national parties in which states can conduct primaries and caucuses without penalty. Like Louisiana, however, the move may not affect delegate allocation but may have an impact on delegate selection. District delegates were due to be selected at district caucuses on April 11 while at-large and PLEO delegates were set to be selected by the Georgia Democratic Party state central committee on May 16. Both obviously occur before the Georgia presidential primary now. The at-large and PLEO selection may not present a problem. It does not occur within the context of a large gathering, but happens much deeper into the calendar and potentially out of the time in which the coronavirus may be the most dangerous.
But the district caucuses to select congressional district delegates are much sooner in fall at a time on the calendar that overlaps with some other cancelations, postponements and delays that have occurred in the sports and culture worlds. Slates of delegates from each remaining active campaign can likely be chosen ahead of a primary. This happens often with states that have contests later in the calendar. Delegates are chosen from those slates once the primary has occurred and the allocation is clear. That is not a big issue, per se, but getting around the gatherings at scheduled April 11 district caucuses in a way that is consistent with tamping down on the spread of the coronavirus may present some problems for the Georgia Democratic Party.
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The date of the Georgia primary has been changed on the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
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Related Posts:
Georgia Will Send Absentee Request Forms to All Active Voters for May 19 Primary
Georgia House Speaker Calls for Another Presidential Primary Move in the Peach State
Chorus for an Even Later Georgia Presidential Primary Grows
Given these circumstances, I believe it is necessary and prudent to suspend in-person voting in the Presidential Preference Primary, and the local elections associated with them, and resume in-person voting for those elections as part of the already scheduled May 19 General Primary.Georgia, then, will shift its presidential primary back from March 24 and consolidate it with the primary elections for other offices on May 19. The earlier Peach state presidential primary move from Super Tuesday in 2016 to the fourth Tuesday in March for 2020 already had shifted the Georgia primary to the latest point on the primary calendar since 1976. That is still true with the move to May, but the May 19 date represents the latest date on which Georgia has conducted a presidential primary in the post-reform era.
Importantly, Georgia voters will have options given the change. Those who have already cast early ballots for the previously scheduled March presidential primary will be able to vote again if they choose. But Georgia voters will also be able to let their previously cast early ballots count toward the May 19 presidential primary race if they want. That latter option would mean casting a vote in the presidential race but ceding down ballot votes for other offices.
Unlike Louisiana, which changed its primary date on Friday, the Georgia presidential primary moved back but stayed within the window established the national parties in which states can conduct primaries and caucuses without penalty. Like Louisiana, however, the move may not affect delegate allocation but may have an impact on delegate selection. District delegates were due to be selected at district caucuses on April 11 while at-large and PLEO delegates were set to be selected by the Georgia Democratic Party state central committee on May 16. Both obviously occur before the Georgia presidential primary now. The at-large and PLEO selection may not present a problem. It does not occur within the context of a large gathering, but happens much deeper into the calendar and potentially out of the time in which the coronavirus may be the most dangerous.
But the district caucuses to select congressional district delegates are much sooner in fall at a time on the calendar that overlaps with some other cancelations, postponements and delays that have occurred in the sports and culture worlds. Slates of delegates from each remaining active campaign can likely be chosen ahead of a primary. This happens often with states that have contests later in the calendar. Delegates are chosen from those slates once the primary has occurred and the allocation is clear. That is not a big issue, per se, but getting around the gatherings at scheduled April 11 district caucuses in a way that is consistent with tamping down on the spread of the coronavirus may present some problems for the Georgia Democratic Party.
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The date of the Georgia primary has been changed on the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
--
Related Posts:
Georgia Will Send Absentee Request Forms to All Active Voters for May 19 Primary
Georgia House Speaker Calls for Another Presidential Primary Move in the Peach State
Chorus for an Even Later Georgia Presidential Primary Grows
Friday, March 13, 2020
Wyoming Democrats Tweak Caucus Plan in the Face of Coronavirus Threat
The Wyoming Democratic Party on Friday, March 13 opted to alter the course of its delegate selection process for the 2020 Democratic presidential race, dropping the in-person portion of the party's April 4 caucuses.
In a statement, the party said...
None of this will necessarily materially affect the delegate allocation process. Voters will still have options in terms of getting their votes submitted. But the change will impact the delegate selection process. The in-person caucuses would not only have served the purpose of being a part of the delegate allocation, but on choosing delegates to attend the state convention. It is those state convention delegates that were initially ultimately charged with selecting the national convention delegates. The state convention is still scheduled to occur on June 6.
But how state convention delegates will be selected remains a blank that will need to be filled in the coming days and weeks by the Wyoming Democratic Party likely working in concert with the DNC and the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
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Related Posts:
Wyoming Democrats Shift Back Deadline to Have Mail-In Caucus Ballots in
In a statement, the party said...
Wyoming Democratic Party (WDP) Chair Joe M Barbuto has announced that the in-person portion of the 2020 Presidential Preference Caucus, as well as county conventions, are suspended due to growing concern over COVID-19. Our priority is ensuring that people are healthy and safe. Holding public events right now would put that in jeopardy, so this is the responsible course of action.
Voters are highly encouraged to vote by mail; as of now, voters may still vote via ballot pickup and drop off on March 28 and April 4. We will continue to work with public health officials, and assess local conditions, to ensure voters’ health and safety.
The WDP is working with our partners around the state and nation to develop a plan that ensures necessary tasks and duties are achieved. Details will be released as they become available.This change will shift the process to a mail-in option that was already built into the Wyoming Democratic Party delegate selection plan. And though the last day to register to vote in the caucuses (and receive a mail-in ballot) has passed (March 10), every registered Democrat in the state by that time was mailed a ballot. The last day to postmark those ballot for mail in is on March 20. Democrats in the Cowboy state will also have the option after that of dropping off those ballots mailed to them on either Saturday, March 28 or Saturday, April 4, the original date of the caucuses. There are at least two drop off locations in each county in Wyoming.
None of this will necessarily materially affect the delegate allocation process. Voters will still have options in terms of getting their votes submitted. But the change will impact the delegate selection process. The in-person caucuses would not only have served the purpose of being a part of the delegate allocation, but on choosing delegates to attend the state convention. It is those state convention delegates that were initially ultimately charged with selecting the national convention delegates. The state convention is still scheduled to occur on June 6.
But how state convention delegates will be selected remains a blank that will need to be filled in the coming days and weeks by the Wyoming Democratic Party likely working in concert with the DNC and the Rules and Bylaws Committee.
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Related Posts:
Wyoming Democrats Shift Back Deadline to Have Mail-In Caucus Ballots in
Louisiana Shifts Presidential Primary Back to June 20 Amid Rising Coronavirus Concerns
Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin (R) on Friday moved the planned presidential primary in the Pelican state from April 4 to June 20 as the reach of the coronavirus stretches beyond sports and culture into election administration. Ardoin made the change citing "emergency suspension or delays and rescheduling" of elections because of the possibility of an emergency or disaster.
While it is not unusual for plans to be finalized by state parties (in coordination with the national parties) for delegate selection processes in the year of a presidential nomination, it is unusual for state governments to make these types of changes. But then again, Covid-19 has, to understate things, made things unusual in 2020.
The biggest things here are that, first of all, the June 20 date falls outside of the window the DNC has established for state parties to conduct primaries or caucuses. That window closes on June 9, the second Tuesday in June. That deadline is why the District of Columbia Council changed the date of their third Tuesday in June primary in 2019; to comply with the DNC rules.
But secondly, the change also runs up against the logistics of delegate selection ahead of the convention. June 20 is the last date on which any states are selecting any delegates -- filling slots allocated to candidates through primaries and caucuses -- for the national convention on the Democratic side. It is one thing for the selection process to reach its conclusion just 23 days before the conventions gavels in. But it is another for the the state party in Louisiana to take results that may not be finalized on the day of the primary and then choose delegates based on those results. That would likely occur within three weeks of the convention.
That is late.
The Republican National Committee by comparison requires the delegate selection process to be completed by 45 days before the national convention. But the Republican National Convention does not begin until August 24, 65 days after the new June 20 Louisiana primary. The change in Pelican state does not defy that rule, but it does violate the Republican window that closes to contests on June 13, the second Saturday in June.
But again, this virus has thrust the world into uncharted territory and that now includes primary elections administration. The question now is whether Louisiana is the last or just the first state to make a change to their primary date as this situation evolves.
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The Louisiana primary date will be changed on the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
While it is not unusual for plans to be finalized by state parties (in coordination with the national parties) for delegate selection processes in the year of a presidential nomination, it is unusual for state governments to make these types of changes. But then again, Covid-19 has, to understate things, made things unusual in 2020.
The biggest things here are that, first of all, the June 20 date falls outside of the window the DNC has established for state parties to conduct primaries or caucuses. That window closes on June 9, the second Tuesday in June. That deadline is why the District of Columbia Council changed the date of their third Tuesday in June primary in 2019; to comply with the DNC rules.
But secondly, the change also runs up against the logistics of delegate selection ahead of the convention. June 20 is the last date on which any states are selecting any delegates -- filling slots allocated to candidates through primaries and caucuses -- for the national convention on the Democratic side. It is one thing for the selection process to reach its conclusion just 23 days before the conventions gavels in. But it is another for the the state party in Louisiana to take results that may not be finalized on the day of the primary and then choose delegates based on those results. That would likely occur within three weeks of the convention.
That is late.
The Republican National Committee by comparison requires the delegate selection process to be completed by 45 days before the national convention. But the Republican National Convention does not begin until August 24, 65 days after the new June 20 Louisiana primary. The change in Pelican state does not defy that rule, but it does violate the Republican window that closes to contests on June 13, the second Saturday in June.
But again, this virus has thrust the world into uncharted territory and that now includes primary elections administration. The question now is whether Louisiana is the last or just the first state to make a change to their primary date as this situation evolves.
--
The Louisiana primary date will be changed on the 2020 FHQ presidential primary calendar.
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