Editing Primary election (section)

===Presidential primaries===
{{Main|United States presidential primary}}

In the United States, [[Iowa caucus|Iowa]] and [[New Hampshire primary|New Hampshire]] have drawn attention every four years because they hold the first [[caucus]] and [[U.S. presidential primary|primary]] election, respectively, and often give a candidate the momentum to win their party's nomination. Since 2000, the primary in [[South Carolina]] has also become increasingly important, as it is the first [[Southern United States|Southern]] state to hold a primary election in the calendar year.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Corasaniti|first=Nick|date=2020-02-29|title=Highlights From the South Carolina Primary and Joe Biden's Big Win|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/south-carolina-primary-02-29|access-date=2021-01-29|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

A criticism of the current presidential primary election schedule is that it gives undue weight to the few states with early primaries, as those states often build momentum for leading candidates and rule out trailing candidates long before the rest of the country has even had a chance to weigh in, leaving the last states with virtually no actual input on the process. The counterargument to this criticism, however, is that, by subjecting candidates to the scrutiny of a few early states, the parties can weed out candidates who are unfit for office.

The [[Democratic National Committee]] (DNC) proposed a new schedule and a new rule set for the 2008 presidential primary elections. Among the changes: the primary election cycle would start nearly a year earlier than in previous cycles, states from the West and the South would be included in the earlier part of the schedule, and candidates who run in primary elections not held in accordance with the DNC's proposed schedule (as the DNC does not have any direct control over each state's official election schedules) would be penalized by being stripped of [[Delegate (American politics)|delegate]]s won in offending states. The ''New York Times'' called the move, "the biggest shift in the way Democrats have nominated their presidential candidates in 30 years."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/washington/20dems.html?ei=5088&en=38453b959671a1ec&ex=1313726400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1165943241-jwmnrClCdt4iLvvEJ27tmA |title=Democrats Set Primary Calendar and Penalties |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=20 August 2006}}</ref>

Of note regarding the DNC's proposed 2008 presidential primary election schedule is that it contrasted with the [[Republican National Committee]]'s (RNC) rules regarding presidential primary elections. "No presidential primary, caucus, convention, or other meeting may be held for the purpose of voting for a presidential candidate and/or selecting delegates or alternate delegates to the national convention, prior to the first Tuesday of February in the year in which the national convention is held."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gop.com/About/AboutRead.aspx?AboutType=4&Section=16 |title=GOP.com |publisher=Gop.com |access-date=2009-01-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081130075808/http://www.gop.com/About/AboutRead.aspx?AboutType=4&Section=16 |archive-date=30 November 2008 }}</ref> In {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}+4-({{CURRENTYEAR}} mod 4)}}, this date is February {{weekday in month|first|Tuesday|February|{{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}+4-({{CURRENTYEAR}} mod 4)}}}}.

Candidates for U.S. President who seek their party's nomination participate in primary elections run by state governments, or caucuses run by the political parties. Unlike an election where the only participation is casting a ballot, a caucus is a gathering or "meeting of party members designed to select candidates and propose policies".<ref>{{cite book|last=Bardes|first=Barbara|title=American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials 2011-12 Edition|url=https://archive.org/details/americangovernme0000bard|url-access=registration|year=2012|publisher=Wadsworth|location=Boston, MA|page=[https://archive.org/details/americangovernme0000bard/page/300 300]}}</ref> Both primaries and caucuses are used in the presidential nomination process, beginning in January or February and culminating in the late summer political party conventions. Candidates may earn convention delegates from each state primary or caucus. Sitting presidents generally do not face serious competition from their party.