Is this primary season really different? Re: Late states getting a voice [View All]

[WilliamPitt]

There has been a great hue and cry here about voters in later primary states not getting a chance to voice their choice in this race. I am one of the voters who has had to watch the process unfold without getting a chance to play a part: I don't get to cast my Kucinich vote in Massachusetts until March 2nd.

But I do not remember recent past primary seasons being any different than this. Late states have been left out of the game for decades now. Remember last time? Gore had it in the bag before Super Tuesday. Hell, Bradley was toast after Iowa - remember the farmer who blasted him?

The primaries this year are front-loaded, true. But the crowded field coupled with the crowded calendar has given states like North Dakota and Oklahoma and Maine a chance to swing some weight in a way they didn't last time, or the time before.

If it were up to me, I would do two things:

1) Have all the states hold their primaries/caucuses on the same day;

2) Make Primary Voting Day and General Election Voting Day a secular holiday - no work, no school, just voting.

But since I'm not going to get the chance to do that anytime soon, I am left with the sense that the late-state frustrations are not unique to this season. Is my impression wrong?