On July 16, FairVote's Chris Pearson attended a meeting of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling to discuss possible reforms to the presidential nomination system. Currently, candidates concentrate time and money on the states with the earliest primaries, excluding the great majority of the country from the nomination process. In an attempt to undo this imbalance, many states have moved their primaries earlier and earlier. Most recently, New Jersey has shifted to late February.  

In 2000, the Republican Party examined its own nomination process, nearly adopting the “Delaware Plan.” This plan would set up a calendar with month-long gaps between primaries, and with each successive primary date including states with bigger populations.

FairVote's recommended proposal is the “American Plan” recently endorsed by the California Young Democrats. This plan combines random order with increasing population size and succeeds in balancing the interests of both large and small states, giving all states a fair shot at meaningful impact in the nomination process.
 
[Read more about New Jersey's primary change]
[The American Plan]