The state’s top elections official worries that the state senate could vote Monday afternoon to cut the people out of the presidential selection process.
Senate leader Rob Mayer says a bill passed by the House will be the first order of business when the senate returns to the capitol. The bill moves the presidential primary from February to March. The National Republican Committee threatens to refuse convention voting privileges to Missouri delegates if the change isn’t made.
Several Senators who resent the party’s attitude want to just scrap the primary and pick delegates through caucuses. They say cancelling the election will save the state $6-8 million.
Wrong approach, says Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, and certainly the wrong rationale. She says the people seem to have gotten lost in the discussion. “Feels like it,’ she says, “Anybody who thinks it’s a good idea to cancel the primary just to save money—I gasp at that.”
Carnahan points to the Tea Party and citizen protests blocking Wall Street and other places as strong indications people want to be more involved in the process. She says this is no time to pass a law that files in the face of that public mood.