I've been disenfranchised in every primary in my life!!!!!

[JoePhilly]

Yup. I'm pretty sure its true.

I'm 44 years old and I've lived in 4 different states. And in my voting years, my state has NEVER REALLY MATTERED in the primaries. Not once that I can recall. By the time my state held its primary, the nominee was a mathematical certainty.

I bet this is true for others on DU.

So, my voice has really never been heard in a primary ... as a result, I've had to accept the nominee determined by a relatively small subset of other states. And by the convention, my states have always just accepted the de facto candidate.

So while I feel bad for the folks in Florida and Michigan (I really do), those who's voice may not be heard in this primary (if things remain unchanged) ... they will still get the same amount of choice that I have always had ... a vote in the General Election.

And its interesting to note that this year MORE states matter than ever before.

I guess that until EVERY state has an equal say in the primary process, many of us will be disenfranchised over and over again in the future.

By the way, I currently live in North Carolina. My primary vote might actually matter, at least a little, this year.

Who knew?

:hide:

[crispini]

1. Me too!

:toast:

First time my vote mattered in a presidential primary in 20 years.

You should have SEEN the turnout. Enjoy your turn in the sun. That is the BEST thing about this primary season. Just hold on to your shorts, 'cause it's a wild ride!

[Fresh_Start]

2. I think we should rotate the early primary states

each election.

[Romulox]

3. The whole point is to force us to choose between anti-Labor candidate A

and anti-Labor candidate B.

That's why they don't want industrial states to be involved in early primary voting. To "vet" anyone who isn't a cheap-labor "progressive" ("new democract") like Hillary and Obama.

[jobycom]

4. Good post. That's why I think this competitive primary is good for the party.

Most states really will matter in the final tally. And by then, we'll have had the longest debate about the direction of the party since 1980. This is all good for us. I don't understand those who want one candidate or the other to drop out. We need this race. Let every voter have a voice. Then at least we can feel like we've voted for our nominee.

Texan here. My vote hasn't meant anything ever. :)

[John Q. Citizen]

5. Yep. I'm in MT and we vote June 3rd. What's the problem?

[MattBaggins]

6. I am a New Yorker

My vote seems to always count and I am one of those that gets to push his choice on you. How about we all sit down after this cycle and find a way to make it a bit fairer. I would be willing to go later next time around and switch the cycle up a bit. I think we should also examine whether we really need SDs and the Caucus system. We also need to consider as a party how we feel about open vs. closed primaries.

[JoePhilly]

8. I've liked the regional mixup models ...

Divide the country in to sections and then include one state from each section in a primary every 2 weeks to a month.

So maybe you get California, Ill, Georgia, and Maine on the same day ... then the next week you get Washington, Florida, West Virgina and Kansas ... and so on ... and then rotate the mix.

But we can't keep things as they are.

[napi21]

7. I've been saying this for months now. I too have lived in 4 different

States, and all of them had late primaries, thus my vote never mattered. I'm not as kind as you. I can't muster any sympathy for MI or FL. I think the amount of $$ that has already been spent on the primaries by the candidates & all the States is obscene, and it would be flat out stupid to spend any more on a revote anywhere.

[JoePhilly]

9. True ... my sympathy is mainly for the effort to go vote .... and I'll add ...

At least they got to say SOMETHING ... even if it doesn't count in delegates ... everyone else sees what those states did and will be influenced by it ... lots of people voted against Hillary in Michigan ... that's important ... she won Florida, perhaps on name recognition, but you have to consider what Florida means in the GE ...

But if nothing else, those states have provided some data ... it might not be CLEAR data ... but its not NOTHING ... which is what many of us usually get to give.