A group of Nevada Democrats is pushing to alter presidential elections by establishing the state as the first nominating contest in the country.
The bill, spearheaded by Nevada Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, asks Nevada to hold a primary, rather than the usual caucuses, on the second-to-last Tuesday in January and include 10 days of early voting that would end the Friday before the election.
“Nevada’s diverse population and first-hand experience in issues relating to climate change, public lands, immigration, and health care provide a unique voice that deserves to be heard first,” Frierson said.
As of now, Nevada is the third state to hold a presidential nominating contest for Democrats and the fourth for Republicans.
The proposed primary would be run by the state instead of caucuses run by political parties. The primary would be a separate election from a June primary held to pick party nominees and narrow the field of candidates for all levels of office.
Making Nevada the first state to hold a primary would change decades of political tradition, bumping Iowa and New Hampshire out of their long-held early spots.
New Hampshire would likely oppose the effort, given state law requires that its primary be held at least a week before a “similar election” in any other state. New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner has lobbied for decades to keep his state on the front lines, according to Politico.
It’s unclear if the national parties will approve of the move, but former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has indicated the Iowa caucuses shouldn’t be the first in the presidential election cycle.
Perez said that diversity should be in play in choosing which states go first, as that would better reflect the national voting demographics of the country.
“A diverse state or states need to be first,” Perez said last week. “The difference between going first and going third is really important. We know the importance of momentum in Democratic primaries.”
Perez was replaced by former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison last month.
