States not allowed to vote in Dem Primaries.

I hope for the country's sake that I'm the last one to find out about this. I hope this was all over the news, and I somehow missed it. Sadly, I have a feeling this story got buried and this is the first most of you have heard about it (if you're reading this right now, before Michigan's Primary). In case you also haven't heard, Michigan and Florida have been penalized and their votes in the Democrat primaries won't be counted!

This New York Times Democrat Primary schedule sums it up pretty well. Basically, these states wanted their primaries to be held sooner, so that they could have more of an impact. The state Democratic Committees didn't consult with the right people before they did it, one thing led to another, and now the democrats in these two states don't get to vote in the primaries. Well, they might get to vote, but their votes aren't counted for anything.

This should be a wake-up call! The primary voting system really sucks.

First, Iowa and New Hampshire get an unfair advantage by always being first. I appreciate starting in one or two states to get the politicians to focus on local campaigning, but why does it have to be the same two states every year? It should be changed so that each election cycle, a different state gets to benefit from first in the primary schedule.

Second, everyones vote should count. Just because some people on Democrat Committees in Michigan and Florida screwed up, it isn't right to void the votes of millions of people.

Third, now that Michigan doesn't count, the first four states to vote on who the Democratic nominee should be, voted for Bush in the last two elections. Since the nomination process usually gets decided by the early states, the Democratic nominee is essentially picked by the voters in Republican states. Not cool. Again, my solution is that the the Primary schedule should rotate so that different states benefit each time around.

Fourth, voting for delegates, so they get to go to the convention then have the option of voting again is crazy. The votes should be counted and the candidate should be picked by the popular vote. As for how that would affect the actual ceremony, thats easy. Delegates can go to the convention and make the same appearance as they do now. They just don't get to vote.

Enough said. Now get out there and make sure you're registered to vote!!!