WA Secretary of State Sam Reed says he’s increasingly optimistic that the national Democratic and Republican parties will move the 2012 presidential primary season to later in the calendar.

Reed, a national leader for presidential primary reform, said the National Association of  Secretaries of State heard from party representatives last week about proposals now moving through both the Republican and Democratic national committees to address the widely-criticized “frontloading” of primaries during recent times.  In 2008, for instance, the Iowa caucuses were on Jan. 3, and the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8, leading to ad blitzes and campaigning during the holidays of 2007 and many joint campaign events more than a year before the election.

The Democrats’ Rules and Bylaws Committee and the full Executive Board have voted to postpone the launch of the primary season until March for all but four states.  Many states, including Washington, clustered in early February last time. The grandfathered states, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, will be allowed to start before the window, but not before February.  The DNC plan also would reduce the percentage of national convention “superdelegates.”

Republicans’ national delegate selection panel is making a similar proposal, requiring most states to wait until March, with exceptions to allow the four “carve-out” states to start no earlier than February 1.

Says Reed:

“We’re pleased that both parties are interested in beginning to restore some sanity into our presidential nominating process, for the sake of voters who get primary-fatigue and for the candidates themselves.  There is no reason this process needs to take so long.

“We will continue to press for a system of four rotating regional primaries in the future, but it is a major step forward to at least start the nominating process a month later.  My congratulations to both parties.”