California lawmakers consider moving date of 2008 presidential primary to give state more sway

By: STEVE LAWRENCE - Associated Press | Saturday, January 20, 2007 7:12 PM PST ∞

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California is considering moving up the date of its presidential primary again in hopes of gaining more clout in picking White House nominees, a little more than two years after abandoning a similar effort.

State Sen. Ron Calderon said Friday he plans to introduce a bill on Monday that would move the primary from June to February, making it one of the earliest in the country.

"California is the biggest and most influential state in the union, yet our current June presidential primary virtually ensures that the nominees will be determined long before our voters cast their ballots," Calderon, the chairman of the Senate elections committee, said in a statement.

A February presidential primary will encourage candidates to debate issues important to Californians, he said. A similar bill was introduced in the Assembly on Thursday.

California, which has 55 electoral votes, has traditionally held its primary elections in June, going back to 1946. But in 1996, it began experimenting with a March primary in hopes of giving its voters a bigger say in determining who wins the White House.

Other states moved up their primaries and caucuses, as well. By the time California's March elections were held, the nominations were locked up.

In 2004, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation moving the primary back to June. The measure's author, then-state Sen. Ross Johnson, said the change to March was a failure that had reduced voter turnout, made the campaign season unreasonably long and boosted campaign costs for other candidates.

But Schwarzenegger said earlier this week that he would support a move to February, complaining that presidential candidates only visit California to raise campaign donations.

"We're kind of an afterthought when it comes to the presidential campaign," he told the Sacramento Press Club. "I mean, all those guys come out here, and they clean up, and they take the money and run. Millions and millions and millions of dollars -- both parties."

California could lose delegates to the Democratic National Convention if it moves up its primary.

Two Democratic state lawmakers, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, sent Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean a letter Friday urging the committee to reject proposed rules that would cost the state nearly 100 delegates -- or about 30 percent of its total -- if it moves up the primary.

"As we have seen in recent years, waiting to hold our primary takes California and its concerns off the national radar -- and tilts our country's agenda away from the Democratic values most Californians support," they said in the letter.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, said California should have a larger voice in presidential politics. But she acknowledged that it could be difficult to make changes in the state's electronic voting machines if the presidential primary is held next February.

"If the top-to-bottom review finds that significant changes need to be made, it would be difficult to implement them in time for a February primary election that's less than 13 months away," Bowen said in a statement.

If the legislation passes, the election would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February. That would put it on par with about a half-dozen states that trail Iowa, New Hampshire and others that typically settle the Democratic and Republican nominations, but still keep it in the thick of the contest.

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