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Republicans won’t be able to block the most consequential vote Democrats cast this week. In fact, they probably won’t even be in the room as the vote comes down.
That’s because the Democratic National Committee will be following through with plans for an intraparty vote this week that will have implications for the party and U.S. politics more broadly. On Saturday, Democrats will vote whether to approve a proposal from the Biden administration and top Democrats to rearrange the primary election schedule.
Check out this post from December to learn why I said the proposal could be Biden’s most significant contribution to the Democratic Party.
In short, the proposed schedule — which would have South Carolina hold its 2024 presidential primary first on Feb. 3, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13 and then Michigan on Feb. 27 — front-loads the primary calendar with states whose demographics better reflect the base of the Democratic Party.
Biden and the DNC are largely betting on Black voters with this proposal, giving a group that comprises a major part of the Democratic electorate more of a say in the president-picking process.
As FiveThirtyEight’s Alex Samuels explained Monday, this is an improved — although imperfect — change.
The DNC is expected to approve the proposal during Saturday’s meeting, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be completely bereft of drama. Two states — New Hampshire and Georgia — were recently given until June to meet legal requirements necessary to alter their primary schedule.
Democrats in New Hampshire need to convince Republicans, who control the governorship and the state house, to change a law requiring New Hampshire to hold its primary races first. Many Republicans and Democrats in the state are very upset over this — with some threatening to hold the state’s primaries first anyway.
Biden and the DNC are largely betting on Black voters with this proposal, giving a group that comprises a major part of the Democratic electorate more of a say in the president-picking process.
The DNC rules and bylaws committee explained in December that this could result in states voiding their waivers to hold their primaries early and being forced to move their races to March if they want their votes counted.
Georgia is in a similar scenario, with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp saying he has no plans to approve a change in state law — as is required — to move Georgia’s primaries to an earlier date. But Georgia Democrats could still be in store for good news in short order — Atlanta is on a short list of cities that could host next year’s Democratic National Convention.
All of these plans signal a potential power shift in the Democratic Party, placing a greater emphasis on Southern — largely Black — voters in states that have previously seemed, for lack of a better phrase, like lost causes for liberals.