Legislature Moves Primary Up

by: Juan Melli

Thu Mar 15, 2007 at 06:48:34 PM EDT

The Assembly just passed legislation moving NJ's presidential primary up from Feb 26 to Feb 5. The legislation, which had already passed in the Senate, cleared the Assembly by a vote of 57-20-2. The bill will now go to Governor Corzine, who has said he supports the move.

Speaker Joe Roberts in a press release:

"For years, New Jersey's primary date guaranteed that our residents were left on the sidelines when it came time for selecting presidential candidates," said Roberts (D-Camden). "It's past time New Jersey voters moved from back of the class to front of the class in determining who should lead this nation."
The legislation (S-2193/A-4010), which passed the Senate and has the support of the governor, would ensure that New Jersey voters become a part of what is being called the biggest change in presidential primary politics in decades.
The National Association of Secretaries of State lists 22 other states that have changed, or are considering changing, the date of their presidential primaries to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February, or February 5 in 2008. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada (GOP primary), New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

Assemblyman and Democratic chair Joe Cryan:

"There is a real cost in relevance with the late primaries, a cost paid through policy decisions in Washington that have been especially wrong in recent years. We want a stronger voice and we want the presidential candidates to listen. If we want to increase our relevance then we want to be out in front.
"We've led the way on national political trends, we should also be in the forefront on the primary calendar. This is good for New Jersey and good for the country."

Juan Melli :: Legislature Moves Primary Up