[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1589 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
2d Session
S. 1589
To provide for a rotating schedule for regional primaries for
Presidential elections, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 5, 1996
Mr. Gorton (for himself and Mr. Lieberman) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and
Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a rotating schedule for regional primaries for
Presidential elections, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Primary Act of 1996''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) the term ``election year'' means a year during which a
Presidential election is to be held;
(2) the term ``national committee'' means the organization
which, by virtue of the bylaws of a political party, is
responsible for the day-to-day operation of such political
party at the national level, as determined by the Federal
Election Commission;
(3) the term ``political party'' means an association,
committee, or organization which--
(A) nominates a candidate for election to any
Federal office whose name appears on the election
ballot as the candidate of such association, committee,
or organization; and
(B) won electoral votes in the preceding
Presidential election;
(4) the term ``primary'' means a primary election held for
the selection of delegates to a national Presidential
nominating convention of a political party, but does not
include a caucus, convention, or other indirect means of
selection; and
(5) the term ``State committee'' means the organization
which, by virtue of the bylaws of a political party, is
responsible for the day-to-day operation of such political
party at the State level, as determined by the Federal Election
Commission.
SEC. 3. SCHEDULE.
(a) Schedule.--
(1) First election cycle.--In the first election year after
the date of enactment of this Act, each State shall hold a
primary in accordance with this Act, according to the following
schedule:
(A) Region i.--Each State in Region I shall hold
its primary on the first Tuesday in March.
(B) Region ii.--Each State in Region II shall hold
its primary on the first Tuesday in April.
(C) Region iii.--Each State in Region III shall
hold its primary on the first Tuesday in May.
(D) Region iv.--Each State in Region IV shall hold
its primary on the first Tuesday in June.
(2) Subsequent election cycles.--
(A) General rule.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), in the second and each subsequent
election year after the date of enactment of this Act,
each State in each region shall hold its primary on the
first Tuesday of the month following the month in which
it held its primary in the preceding election year.
(B) Limitation.--If the States in a region were
required to hold their primaries not earlier than the
first Tuesday in June of the preceding year, such
States shall hold their primaries on the first Tuesday
in March of the succeeding election year.
(b) Regions.--For purposes of subsection (a):
(1) Region i.--Region I shall be comprised of the
following:
(A) Connecticut.
(B) Delaware.
(C) District of Columbia.
(D) Maine.
(E) Maryland.
(F) Massachusetts.
(G) New Hampshire.
(H) New Jersey.
(I) New York.
(J) Pennsylvania.
(K) Rhode Island.
(L) Vermont.
(M) West Virginia.
(2) Region ii.--Region II shall be comprised of the
following:
(A) Alabama.
(B) Arkansas.
(C) Florida.
(D) Georgia.
(E) Kentucky.
(F) Louisiana.
(G) Mississippi.
(H) North Carolina.
(I) Oklahoma.
(J) South Carolina.
(K) Tennessee.
(L) Texas.
(M) Virginia.
(3) Region iii.--Region III shall be comprised of the
following:
(A) Illinois.
(B) Indiana.
(C) Iowa.
(D) Kansas.
(E) Michigan.
(F) Minnesota.
(G) Missouri.
(H) Nebraska.
(I) North Dakota.
(J) Ohio.
(K) South Dakota.
(L) Wisconsin.
(4) Region iv.--Region IV shall be comprised of the
following:
(A) Alaska.
(B) Arizona.
(C) California.
(D) Colorado.
(E) Hawaii.
(F) Idaho.
(G) Montana.
(H) Nevada.
(I) New Mexico.
(J) Oregon.
(K) Utah.
(L) Washington.
(M) Wyoming.
(5) Territories.--The national committees shall jointly
determine the region of each territory of the United States.
SEC. 4. QUALIFICATION FOR BALLOT.
(a) Certification by Federal Election Commission.--The Federal
Election Commission shall certify to the States in the relevant region
the names of all seriously considered candidates of each party--
(1) for the first primary in the election year, not later
than 6 weeks before such primary; and
(2) in the subsequent primaries in the election year, not
later than 1 week after the preceding primary in that election
year.
(b) State Primary Ballots.--Each State shall include on its primary
ballot--
(1) the names certified by the Federal Election Commission;
and
(2) any other names determined by the appropriate State
committee.
SEC. 5. VOTING AT NATIONAL PARTY CONVENTIONS BY STATE DELEGATES.
(a) In General.--Each State committee shall establish a procedure
for the apportionment of delegates to the national Presidential
nominating convention of each political party based on 1 of the
following models:
(1) Winner-take-all.--A binding, winner-take-all system in
which the results of the primary bind each member of the State
delegation or Congressional district delegation (or combination
thereof) to the national convention to cast his or her vote for
the primary winner in the State.
(2) Proportionate preference.--A binding proportionate
representation system in which the results of the State primary
are used to allocate members of the State delegation or
Congressional district delegation (or combination thereof) to
the national convention to Presidential candidates based on the
proportion of the vote for some or all of the candidates
received in the primary in the State.
(b) Selection of Delegates.--
(1) Submission of names.--Not later than the date on which
a candidate is certified on the ballot for a State, such
candidate shall submit to the State committee, in priority
order, a list of names of individuals proposed by the candidate
to serve as delegates for such candidate.
(2) Selection.--Delegates apportioned to represent a
candidate pursuant to the procedure established under
subsection (a) shall be selected according to the list
submitted by the candidate pursuant to paragraph (1).
(c) Voting at the National Conventions.--Each delegate to a
national convention who is required to vote for the winner of the State
primary under the system established under subsection (a) shall so vote
for at least 2 ballots at the national convention, unless released by
the winner of the State primary to which such delegate's vote is
pledged.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall apply to the primaries in the year 2000 and in each
election year thereafter.
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