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Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the country and administrative divisions within the country, voters might consist of the general public in what is called an open primary, or solely the members of a political party in what is called a closed primary. In addition to these, there are other variants on primaries that are used by many countries holding elections throughout the world.
The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States presidential elections. The United States Constitution has never specified the process; political parties have developed their own procedures over time. Some states hold only primary elections, some hold only caucuses, and others use a combination of both. These primaries and caucuses are staggered, generally beginning sometime in January or February, and ending about mid-June before the general election in November. State and local governments run the primary elections, while caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves. A state's primary election or caucus is usually an indirect election: instead of voters directly selecting a particular person running for president, they determine the number of delegates each party's national convention will receive from their respective state. These delegates then in turn select their party's presidential nominee. The first state in the United States to hold its presidential primary was North Dakota in 1912, following on Oregon's successful implementation of its system in 1910.
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention. The primary goal of the Democratic National Convention is to officially nominate a candidate for president and vice president, adopt a comprehensive party platform and unify the party. Pledged delegates from all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the American territories, and superdelegates which are unpledged delegates representing the Democratic establishment, attend the convention and cast their votes to choose the party's presidential candidate. Like the Republican National Convention, the Democratic National Convention marks the formal end of the primary election period and the start of the general election season. Since the 1980s the national conventions have lost most of their importance and become mostly just ceremonial coronation events for the respective candidate, as since the full establishment of primary contests in that time the winning nominees of both parties have always been clear long time before the convention. In 2020, both major parties, and many minor parties, replaced their usual in-person conventions with virtual programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In American politics, a superdelegate is a delegate to a presidential nominating convention who is seated automatically.
The Delaware Plan is a proposed system to reorganize the state presidential primary elections amongst the 50 states and the several territories of the United States. In brief, the Plan divides the states and territories into four groups, and has the territories and smallest states voting first and the largest states voting last.
The Rotating Regional Primary System is a proposed system for reform of the United States presidential primary process, in which the country would be divided into four regions for primary elections. The plan has been promoted since 1999 by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
The Graduated Random Presidential Primary System, also known as the California Plan or the American Plan, is a proposed system to reform the conduct of United States Presidential primary campaigns. Under this system the campaign period would be broken into ten two-week periods in which an escalating number of electoral votes would be contested. It was developed by aerospace engineer and political scientist Thomas Gangale in 2003 in response to the trend toward front-loading in recent primary campaigns and the influence wielded by Iowa and New Hampshire, which traditionally hold their nominating events before any other state.
The Interregional Primary Plan is a proposed reform to the United States primary calendar supported by Representative Sandy Levin and Senator Bill Nelson, both Democrats. The plan would break the country into six regions. From those regions, one subregion - either a single state or a group of smaller states - would vote on each primary date with the entire country having held its primaries after the sixth set of primaries votes. Each state would vote first once every twenty-four years, with the first set of primaries determined by lottery and cycled thereafter.
The 2020 Arkansas Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Arkansas primary was an open primary, with the state awarding 36 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 31 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
The 2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The North Carolina primary was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 122 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 110 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
The 2020 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Oklahoma primary was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 43 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 37 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
The 2020 Vermont Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Vermont primary was an open primary, with the state awarding 24 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 16 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
The 2020 Democrats Abroad presidential primary took place from March 3 to March 10, 2020, between Super Tuesday and the following multi-primary cluster in the next week, as a global vote during the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, allowing American citizens living outside the United States, who were members of Democrats Abroad, to participate in the nomination process. Voting took place at more than 230 voting stations in several countries, as well as via e-mail and postal voting, with major voting events held on Super Tuesday, the following weekend and the other multi-primary Tuesday. The Democrats Abroad party-run primary awarded 21 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, representing 17 votes, of which 13 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the process.
The 2020 Idaho Democratic presidential primary took place on March 10, 2020, as one of several states voting the week after Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The Idaho primary required that voters would be registered Democrats or unaffiliated, and awarded 25 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of whom 20 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results.
The 2020 North Dakota Democratic presidential caucuses took place on March 10, 2020, as one of several states voting the week after Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries and caucuses for the 2020 presidential election. While the contest has in effect been a party-run open primary for the first time in North Dakota's history, the state party retained the traditional caucus name, classifying it as a firehouse caucus. The state awarded 18 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 14 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the election.
The 2020 Kentucky Democratic presidential primary took place on June 23, 2020 alongside the New York primary, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. It was originally planned for May 19, 2020, but was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kentucky primary was a closed primary, with the state awarding 60 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of whom 54 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results.
The 2020 Oregon Democratic presidential primary took place on May 19, 2020 in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election and was the only contest on that date. The Kentucky primary, previously also scheduled for May 19, was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, while Oregon already had a total vote-by-mail primary. The Oregon primary was a closed primary and awarded 74 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of whom 61 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results.
The 2020 Maine Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Maine primary, the first in the state since 2000, was a closed primary, meaning that only registered Democrats could vote in this primary, but unenrolled voters were permitted to enroll in a party at the polls with same day registration. The state awarded 32 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, 24 of which were pledged delegates allocated based on the results of the primary. The primary election coincided with a people's veto referendum to reject changes to Maine's vaccination laws.
Although the Northern Mariana Islands did not participate in the 2020 presidential election because it is a U.S. territory and not a state, it still participated in the U.S. presidential primaries and caucuses. Senator Bernie Sanders won the Democratic caucus, held on March 14, which would be his last win in the 2020 primary season. The Republican caucus, held on March 15 during the party's commonwealth convention, unanimously voted for incumbent President Donald Trump.
The 2020 Alabama Republican presidential primary took place in Alabama on March 3, 2020, as one of 14 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries for the 2020 United States presidential election. The open primary allocated 50 pledged delegates towards the Republican National Convention, distributed with the "winner take most" system of allocating delegates. This system states that a candidate must receive 20% of the vote to receive any delegates statewide or by congressional district, but only if the winner gets less than 50% of the aggregate vote. Should they receive more than 50% of the vote statewide or by congressional district, it becomes winner-take-all.
References
- ↑ Nelson, Michael (1983). "2. The Presidential Nominating System: Problem and Prescriptions". In Zeckhauser, Richard; Leebaert, Derek (eds.). What Role for Government?: Lessons from Policy Research. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-0481-4.
- ↑ Special to The New York Times (December 4, 1913). "National Primary Favoured in Senate. Informal Discussion Shows That President's Suggestion Meets General Approval. Bristow Would Claim it. Cummins Calls Attention to His Bill Which, He Says, the Democrats Sidetracked". The New York Times. p. 3. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ↑ Special to The New York Times (March 25, 1915). "Drops National Primary. President Won't Push Plan, Pomerene Reporting Adversely". The New York Times. p. 5. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- ↑ Statement by Senator Spencer Abraham, "Advisory Commission on the Presidential Nominating Process: A Report Commissioned on behalf of the Republican National Committee", May 2000
- ↑ Personal Statement of Governor Frank Keating (R-Oklahoma), "Advisory Commission on the Presidential Nominating Process: A Report Commissioned on behalf of the Republican National Committee", May 2000
- ↑ Terry Shumaker, Transcript of the Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling, December 10, 2005