Section 1.
Findings and Declaration
1. | The people of the state of ____________ acting through their elected
legislative representation find and declare that:
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a. | The quadriennial election of the President and Vice President of the
United States is among the most important civic acts of the voters of the
state of _____________.
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b. | The Process leading to the nomination of candidates for President and
Vice President of the United States should be as open and participatory
as possible.
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c. | It will enhance voter participation, strengthen the political process
and protect the rights of all states and their citizens to have a coordinated,
orderly and defined electoral schedule.
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d. | The State of _____________ will participate in a rotating regional
presidential primary system as defined herein.
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e. | Understanding the historically important role that smaller states have
played in the presidential selection process in terms of "retail politics,"
the states of New Hampshire and Iowa shall be allowed to conduct their
primary election or caucus prior to the commencement of the rotation schedule.
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Definition -
"Presidential Primary" is the official primary election conducted or
sanctioned by the state of ____________ held in any year that is evenly
divisible by the number four at which delegations to national party conventions
are to be chosen.
Section 3
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, the
state of ____________, consistent with its decision to affiliate with Region
____, as defined by the National Association of Secretaries of State, shall
hold its presidential primary not sooner than the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in March, April, May and June 2004, but in no case later than
six (6) days after said Monday in the order defined below in Section 4;
and shall rotate in subsequent presidential election years as specified
in Section 5.
Section 4
For purposes of presidential primaries the following states should be grouped as follows:
Eastern Region (1)
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Southern Region (2)
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Midwestern Region (3)
Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Western Region (4)
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Guam.
It is the intent that Region 1 begin in March 2004 with other regions
in numerical sequence in April, May and June 2004. In subsequent
cycles, the first region to hold its primary would move to last and all
others in sequence shall move up.
Section 5
Rotation of the Date of the Presidential Primary
In the presidential primary elections subsequent to the year 2004, the date of the election shall be the first Tuesday of the month preceding the month of the most recent presidential primary election, except that if the most recent presidential primary election was conducted on the first Tuesday of March the date of the election shall be the first Tuesday of June.