Democrat panel urges revised primary process

WASHINGTON – Democrats bucked decades of tradition Saturday by moving to wedge the state of Nevada between the long-standing one-two punch of Iowa and New Hampshire in the nominating contests for president in 2008.

In an effort to provide more diversity in early voting, the Democrats’ rules and bylaws committee recommended that Nevada be allowed to hold a caucus the Saturday after Iowa’s leadoff caucus – likely to be held Jan. 14. The rules panel also awarded South Carolina an early primary, which would be held a week after New Hampshire’s Jan. 22 primary.

The full Democratic National Committee will have to approve during its August meeting in Chicago before the changes are put in place.

The moves were praised by Alexis Herman, a co-chairwoman of the rules panel, who said it was appropriate to make such changes “soon after the renewal of the Voting Rights Act,” which protects the rights of minority voters. Almost a quarter of Nevada’s population is Hispanic and more than a quarter of South Carolina’s population is black. Iowa and New Hampshire are predominantly white. Along with choosing the two states allowed to go early before voting is open to all states, the rules panel considered whether to allow the voting to start Jan. 7 – which critics said was too close to the holidays.

New Hampshire Democratic chairwoman Kathy Sullivan said starting Jan. 7 would have been more fair to early states and to candidates and would likely have made the changes more appealing to angry New Hampshire officials.

New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner will have to determine whether the Democrats’ actions comply with a state law requiring that the Granite State’s primary be scheduled a week or more before any “similar election.” He could decide to move the New Hampshire primary earlier to protect its status.

Blacks and Hispanics are important constituencies for the Democrats. Blacks made up 21 percent of the vote for Democrat John Kerry in 2004 and chose him over President Bush by a 9-to-1 margin, according to exit polls.

Hispanics made up 9 percent of the Democrats’ support and leaned toward Kerry. Republicans won the support of roughly four in 10 Hispanic voters in 2004.