State Of The Rules How Delegates Are Picked Varies Both By Party And State.

You can bet the candidates have scrutinized every clause and comma of the complicated rules in the Republican presidential primaries, but it’s a wonder the voters can even make it to the polls.

Democrats had to register as Republicans to vote in New Hampshire’s GOP primary, but in Michigan both registered Democrats and independents could vote in this week’s primary.

Now the rules are changing again, and in Byzantine ways.

In California on March 7, anyone can vote in the GOP presidential primary, but only the votes of registered Republicans will count in awarding delegates to the party’s presidential nominating convention this summer. So it’s possible that one candidate will win the primary and the other will win all 162 delegates - the largest single cache available.

Many of the states holding primaries over the next three Tuesdays have different guidelines altogether. And given how topsy-turvy the Republican race has become, whether John McCain or George W. Bush stands to gain is anyone’s guess.

In addition to California, 11 other states hold contests March 7, the so-called “national primary.” The Georgia GOP primary, like Michigan’s, is completely open. Anyone of any party can vote.

Washington state has one of the most complicated processes for picking presidential nominees.

Republicans will select a third of their delegates through the Feb. 29 primary, and two-thirds through the March 7 caucus.

Because voters in Washington do not register by party, those who wish to cast ballots in the presidential primary can choose between a Democratic, Republican or unaffiliated ballot. To take a party ballot, which has only that party’s candidates on it, voters must say that for the purposes of this election they consider themselves a member of that party.

The unaffiliated ballot has both party’s candidates, but Republicans will only use the results of the GOP ballots to award primary delegates.

Democrats will award all of their delegates through the March 7 precinct caucus. In Maryland, only people registered as Republicans or as independents can vote; in New York and Connecticut, only registered Republicans can.

“It is very complex,” David Israelite, director of politics and governmental affairs for the Republican National Committee, said of the string of GOP primaries. “That’s why we have a team of lawyers to deal with this and to certify every state procedure.”

The Democrats make it simple. All their primaries are closed to Republicans, except for Wisconsin’s and Montana’s.

So why is the Republican primary system more complicated than quantum mechanics? Blame it on the states.

“Every state gets to run its own election,” Israelite said.

And for all the talk about these open primaries, there really aren’t more this year than in other recent presidential seasons. It began in the early 1980s. Looking to expand their party’s base, Republican leaders decided to open up the primary system, particularly in the South, where they were beginning to attract white conservative Democrats.

Fast-forward to 1998-99. The calendar changed. More states moved their 2000 primary dates forward in hopes of making a greater impact. That was also the formative stage of Bush’s candidacy. Republican governors in states such as Michigan and Virginia who were supporting Bush had another reason to go earlier.

“By speeding up the process, you were making it harder for someone who was a dark horse to be able to compete, because you were stacking the deck,” said Ed Goeas, a Republican pollster who isn’t aligned with any candidate. “It’s turning out not to be that way.”

Indeed. McCain was the darkest of dark horses to the Bush campaign only a few weeks ago. He didn’t even compete in the Iowa caucuses. Bush’s target was Steve Forbes, who had a personal multimillion-dollar war chest and conservative credentials.

But McCain has been able to compete successfully despite Bush’ advantages in the calendar, endorsements from the Republican establishment and his once-overflowing treasury.

“McCain is the complete wild card,” said Mark Merritt, who has worked on previous Republican presidential campaigns. “It’s pretty clear Bush wasn’t planning for how to deal with John McCain in February, much less in March. The calculus was always, what do we do about Forbes. McCain always clearly understood that he would need to win early. Bush’s strategy largely was a 1999 strategy, with one month for campaigning in 2000.”

In his New Hampshire victory, McCain won 53 percent of the independent vote, which made 41 percent of the total votes cast in the Republican primary. In South Carolina, where he lost but drew Democrats and independents, he got nearly 80 percent of the Democrats who voted and 60 percent of the independents.

In Michigan, where he recovered, 45 percent of McCain’s vote was from independents and 29 percent was from Democrats.

So the Bush campaign, reeling from the Michigan loss, is left to complain about how McCain has expanded the base of the Republican Party because he has attracted Democrats and independent voters.

“What we would say in Iowa is what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” said former Iowa GOP Chairman Steve Grubb.

Grubb, who backed Forbes, recalled that at the Iowa straw poll last August, Bush targeted non-Republicans. “It helped him win the straw poll and knock three candidates out of the race,” he said.

The idea of complaining about crossover support also sounds politically cockeyed to others who have a big stake in the presidential contest.

“I got 34 percent of the voter registration,” said John McGraw, chairman of the California GOP, who is nonaligned in the presidential contest. “I cannot get to 50 percent from 34 unless I get some people from the other party. When we get people to cross over, we have a greater chance of getting them to become Republicans. This is great. I couldn’t have dreamed of anything better happening.”

Staff writer Jim Camden contributed to this report