Michigan Senate votes to move presidential primary, hurdle remains

Lansing — The Michigan Senate voted Thursday to move the state's presidential primary earlier to Feb. 27, 2024, but the change, sought by Democrats, locally and nationally, faces an obstacle in Republican opposition.

The Democrat-controlled Senate approved the bill to shift the primary date from the second Tuesday in March in a 20-18 vote, along party lines. The vote came just five days before a Feb. 1 deadline for legislative action set by the Democratic National Committee.

Michigan Democrats will likely need 26 senators, two-thirds of the Senate, to support allowing the measure to take effect immediately. If 26 senators don't agree, the bill would take effect 90 days after the end of the year's session, which would usually fall after the February 2024 primary date.

Republican lawmakers said they were concerned their party's rules would punish Michigan for changing the primary date to Feb. 27.

Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, the legislation's sponsor, said discussions in Lansing are ongoing. The bill now moves to the House, and it will have to return to the Senate, where a vote on immediate effect would occur.

"I'm hopeful we can get to a solution, but this is the first step of that process," Moss said.

Top Michigan Democrats have been working to move their state earlier in the presidential primary voting order as the Democratic National Committee has sought to make the lineup better reflect the country as a whole.

In 2020, Michigan held its Democratic primary on March 10, the same day as five other states, and after more than a dozen other states already cast their ballots.

A panel within the Democratic National Committee (DNC) proposed in December moving Michigan up in the presidential primary voting order to fifth among the 50 states with the election happening on Feb. 27, 2024.

Under requirements from a DNC rules committee, Michigan leaders had to submit a letter by Jan. 5 stating their intention to make the legal change to move up the primary. Then, by Feb. 1, the Michigan Democratic Party must certify "any such necessary statutory or regulatory changes have been made."

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, sent DNC officials a letter earlier this month, saying they were confident they could pass legislation to move the date of the 2024 primary.

"When the new Democratic legislature is sworn in on Jan. 11, 2023, (Wednesday) this will be among our first bills introduced, and it will see rapid movement through the legislative process in order to have it signed into law by the end of the month," the letter said.

Under traditional House rules, House majority leadership has been able to give "immediate effect" to bills without actually counting votes to determine if there's two-thirds support. In the Senate, however, there have been definitive roll call votes to find out if there's two-thirds support to grant immediate effect. That would mean six of the 18 Republican lawmakers would have to join the 20 Democrats to hit the threshold.

Democrats could change the rule, but Moss said he wasn't interested in that idea Thursday.

"That has not been in discussion at all," Moss said.

Republican National Committee rules bar states from jumping ahead to vote at the front of the set GOP order. If a state breaks the rule, the state could lose delegate positions at the Republican convention where the presidential candidate is selected.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, referenced the rules in a speech Thursday. Nesbitt said he understood the argument Michigan should play an influential role in picking the president.

But Nesbitt said if Michigan's primary took place before March 1, 2024, state Republicans would lose about 85% of their delegates at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

"This legislation to move the primary will, I believe, disfranchise Michigan voters if left how it is," Nesbitt said.

But Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, said the move to an earlier primary date would put the interests of Michigan residents "front and center" in the primary race.

cmauger@detroitnews.com