Early primary gives Missourians more input

Matt Blunt is Missouris Secretary of State.

Filing started Oct. 21 for candidates in Missouris presidential preference primary. The people will mark their ballots on Feb. 3 and democracy will be the certain winner.

This balloting will be our third presidential nominating primary. Our first such vote, on March 8, 1988, was experimental, and the law provided for only one election. For the presidential election years 1992 and 1996, Missouri returned to nominating presidential candidates by party caucus.

Then, in 1998, legislation was enacted to authorize a presidential preference primary.

Initially, the presidential primary was slated for April, to be held with municipal elections.

Many local election authorities opposed the April date because of the effects a party primary might have on the generally nonpartisan municipal elections.

A 1999 bill moved the 2000 presidential primary date to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March a date that has come to be known as Super Tuesday.

On March 7, 2000, Missouri joined 10 other states holding presidential preference primaries. Missouris voters chose the candidates who went on to be nominated for president by the two parties.

Although the Show-Me State has a relatively short history of presidential primaries, Missouri voters have a striking knack of voting for the winning presidential candidate.

Our state has voted for the winning presidential candidate every year since 1904 with only one exception. The break in our record came when Missouri chose Democrat Adlai Stevenson over incumbent Republican President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.

In an effort to draw more of the presidential candidates attention to the state, a 2002 election reform bill moved the presidential preference primary date from March to February.

Because of this change, Iowa and New Hampshire are the only states with presidential preference primaries in advance of Missouris. Oklahoma, Arizona, South Carolina and Delaware will share our Feb. 3 date.

As an early primary state, Missouri can expect to see an increase in candidate interest, meaning that Missouri voters will play an integral role in the selection of presidential candidates.

Some opponents of the primary made the argument that it was unnecessary. I supported the primary, and said that an election was the most inclusive way to provide all Missourians with the opportunity to affect who will serve as the nominees of our political parties.

I encourage all Missourians of legal voting age to take advantage of this opportunity and go to the polls on Feb. 3. If you are not registered to vote and would like to cast a ballot in this election, you should contact your local Board of Elections, elected county clerk, or the Elections Division of this office at 1-800-NOW-VOTE. Jan. 7 is the last day to register for the Feb. 3 election.