As the Democratic Party approaches the final stretch of nominating contests, now is a good time to reflect on how we can improve the chaotic presidential primary process. The mad rush to the front of the calendar resulted in states losing convention delegates and the voices of voters being ignored. The Republican Party has recently taken the first step in setting a 2012 calendar that will ensure all states have an opportunity to participate in an organized way. The RNC's rules panel voted 28-12 in favor of the "Ohio Plan," a calendar that puts smaller states at the front of the process and rotates "pods" of larger states in four sections.

FairVote's "Fix the Primaries" campaign has improved the dialogue about how the parties can run fairer, more efficient contests in 2012. Right to Vote Director Adam Fogel and Executive Director Rob Richie have just released a new article in the Policy Perspective series, Delegating Democracy: How the Parties Can Make their Nominating Contests More Democratic, which examines six proposals that would promote democratic values in both parties' presidential nominating contests.