As states across the country battle for presidential primary election supremacy, Georgia has joined the growing list of states moving up their primary elections in an effort to maintain relevance in the 2008 presidential race.
Gov. Sonny Perdue recently signed a bill that pushed the state’s primaries up one month, from March 4 to Feb. 5.
With 14 other states holding primary elections on Feb. 5, and at least five additional states with pending legislation to push their primaries up to the same date, it is quickly becoming a national primary day.
Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) said “It’s unfortunate that everybody’s crowding to the front,” and noted Georgia had to join the crowd in order to be important in the presidential selection process.
“Otherwise, we stay in March and the nominees will have probably been determined and they go back underground just raising money and not doing the personal appearances they do for the early stages,” he said.
Changing the primary voting date will not create extra financial costs for local voter registration offices, but it could add to the paperwork for counties like Liberty, where five city elections will be held in November.
“We will have a busy year next year,” Liberty County Chief Registrar Ella Golden said.
But she noted the upcoming elections in Allenhurst, Gum Branch, Hinesville, Riceboro and Walthourville could start a rollover effect and lead to a higher than normal presidential primary voter turnout for the county.
“Most people will already be geared up from the county elections,” Golden said. “They’ll have their thunder rolling.”
Johnson expects the star quality of many ‘08 presidential hopefuls and “any-man’s-game” election atmosphere will bring out more than just “activists in the parties.”
“The fact that it’s such a wide-open field — we have to go back 50 or 60 years before there’s not an incumbent or a vice president running — I think that’s what’ll generate a positive turnout,” the senator said. “It’s a wide-open primary with a winner-take-all result.”
Gov. Sonny Perdue recently signed a bill that pushed the state’s primaries up one month, from March 4 to Feb. 5.
With 14 other states holding primary elections on Feb. 5, and at least five additional states with pending legislation to push their primaries up to the same date, it is quickly becoming a national primary day.
Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) said “It’s unfortunate that everybody’s crowding to the front,” and noted Georgia had to join the crowd in order to be important in the presidential selection process.
“Otherwise, we stay in March and the nominees will have probably been determined and they go back underground just raising money and not doing the personal appearances they do for the early stages,” he said.
Changing the primary voting date will not create extra financial costs for local voter registration offices, but it could add to the paperwork for counties like Liberty, where five city elections will be held in November.
“We will have a busy year next year,” Liberty County Chief Registrar Ella Golden said.
But she noted the upcoming elections in Allenhurst, Gum Branch, Hinesville, Riceboro and Walthourville could start a rollover effect and lead to a higher than normal presidential primary voter turnout for the county.
“Most people will already be geared up from the county elections,” Golden said. “They’ll have their thunder rolling.”
Johnson expects the star quality of many ‘08 presidential hopefuls and “any-man’s-game” election atmosphere will bring out more than just “activists in the parties.”
“The fact that it’s such a wide-open field — we have to go back 50 or 60 years before there’s not an incumbent or a vice president running — I think that’s what’ll generate a positive turnout,” the senator said. “It’s a wide-open primary with a winner-take-all result.”