Is there a lore reason why American elections are so convoluted? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago by tombruzzo@lemm.ee to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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Are they stupid?

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[-] infuziSporg@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago

Is there a reason why any given state couldn't just set their primary to be the same day as Iowa's, increasing their influence in the primary season?

[-] NonWonderDog@hexbear.net 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There's an incredibly stupid Iowa state law saying their caucus has to be at least 8 days before any primary.

There's a similarly stupid New Hampshire state law saying their primary has to be at least 7 days before any other primary.

Those laws don't actually mean anything, and doubly so because there's actually no law saying primaries have to take place at all.

The Democratic and Republican parties put out their own schedules of what states get to go first, and if any state breaks the rules the results don't count.

This year the Democratic party said South Carolina is supposed to be the first primary, but New Hampshire set theirs first anyway, and so Biden wasn't on the ballot and the New Hampshire results don't count.