Discussion of Primary /Caucus Issues

Topics for discussion: Support for Iowa and New Hampshire’s premier status Arguments against Iowa and New Hampshire’s premier status The role of the media in nominating process – how it can impact the outcomes Think of possible reforms to the current system

Possible Reforms 1 “The American Plan” Ten two-week intervals; interval 1, randomly select states with combination of up to 8 districts to hold contests (Iowa =3, New Hampshire =2). Each successive period allows 8 more districts. To allow large states equal chance to be earlier, rounds 4-10 are staggered Rounds as follows: 8, 16, 24, 56, 32, 64, 40, 72, 48, 80

Reforms 2 “Delaware Plan” Divide nation into four zones Smallest states (red) vote first on single day in March, Pod 2 (yellow) in April, Pod 3 (green) in May, Pod 4 (blue) in June Pod 4 represents more than 50% of delegates, so winner would not be determined until June

Reforms 3 “Rotating Regional Primary” IA, NH retain first status Rest of country divided into regions Randomly select the order, rotate it each primary season Alternate, more-complex, would have 6 regions instead of 4

Reforms 4 “National Primary” Every state holds its contests on the same day