foofighter20x
10-25-2007, 04:19 PM
How so?
Article I, Section 4, clause 1:
The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
What does the election of Senators and Representatives have to do with electing a president?
Timing. If the states make the primary process for Senators and Representatives part of their official state law (as opposed to letting the parties privately fund their elections), they open those regulations up to the jurisdictional purview of Congress.
Since Congress can then have a hand in the timing of those primary elections, they can schedule the state primaries for Senators and Representatives in accordance with a primary schedule such as the Delaware Plan.
So how does that tie in with the Presidential Primary Process?
Well, most state governments are cheap and would not want to hold two seperate elections since it'd cost them twice as much as one election. Since such spending would cost more, the state government would have to increase taxes or cut programs or borrow money to fund two separate elections--something that's likely to be unpopular with the State's taxpayers.
So, unless that state wanted to spend the money to jump out to the lead of the pack, they'd have to hold their Presidential Primary at the same time as the primary for Senators and Representatives.
Also, were such a law in place, it'd be very easy for the parties to penalize at the nominating conventions any states that don't adhere to that Congressionally prescribed primary schedule.
What do you guys think?
Article I, Section 4, clause 1:
The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
What does the election of Senators and Representatives have to do with electing a president?
Timing. If the states make the primary process for Senators and Representatives part of their official state law (as opposed to letting the parties privately fund their elections), they open those regulations up to the jurisdictional purview of Congress.
Since Congress can then have a hand in the timing of those primary elections, they can schedule the state primaries for Senators and Representatives in accordance with a primary schedule such as the Delaware Plan.
So how does that tie in with the Presidential Primary Process?
Well, most state governments are cheap and would not want to hold two seperate elections since it'd cost them twice as much as one election. Since such spending would cost more, the state government would have to increase taxes or cut programs or borrow money to fund two separate elections--something that's likely to be unpopular with the State's taxpayers.
So, unless that state wanted to spend the money to jump out to the lead of the pack, they'd have to hold their Presidential Primary at the same time as the primary for Senators and Representatives.
Also, were such a law in place, it'd be very easy for the parties to penalize at the nominating conventions any states that don't adhere to that Congressionally prescribed primary schedule.
What do you guys think?