Arkansas Senator Steve Faris (D-Malvern) has introduced SB 253, to move the primary (for president and all other office) to the 2nd Tuesday in August. Currently the presidential primary is in February and the primary for other office is in May, although the House has already passed a bill to put both in May.
It is quite unusual that any state legislator would propose a presidential primary in August. No state has ever held such a late presidential primary.
Arkansas is already reducing its influence on the Presidential race by moving the primary back to May. It will become totally irrelevant if the primary is moved to August. Why do state and national parties love being bullied by Iowa and New Hampshire so much?
Will this mean that the Party Convensions will be later than normal?
Faris is a senator (it is a SB). My reading is that it moves the general primary to August, but does not set a date for the (presidential) preference primary, which would be left up to the parties. But maybe not. The law that SB 253 is based on has the general primary in June (not May).
In any case, Sen. Faris has also authored an amendment to SB 253 that would set a mid-July date for the presidential primary (3 weeks before the general primary).
Of course, August or September would be the logical date for a direct presidential primary.
Sen. Steve Faris is the chairman of Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee. That committee considered HB 1021, which passed the House on a 96-0 vote and would eliminate the separate presidential primary, on Jan. 27, and passed it out to the senate with a do-pass recommendation. Sen. Faris introduced SB 253 on Jan. 29, so it may that it will go forward as an alternative.
Thank you, Jim. I corrected the post.
After looking at the bills, it appears that it is correct that SB 253 does (did?) intend to move the presidential primary to August. Current law refers to both a “presidential preferential primary” and a “preferential primary”, with the “presidential preference primary” being held in February.
HB 1021, which has passed the House is titled, “ACT TO REPEAL THE PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” But after the “presidential preferential primary” is eliminated, the “preferential primary” which is held concurrently with the general primary would remain; with the “preferential primary” being used as the basis of choosing delegates to the national party conventions.
SB 253, borrows most of the text of HB 1021, and in addition would move the general primary, and therefore the “preferential primary” to August. Amendment 1 to SB 253 would hold the “preferential primary” in mid-July, 3 weeks before the general primary.