Assembly OKs Bill to Move Presidential Primary to February

The Assembly, on a bipartisan vote, approved a bill Thursday to move up California’s presidential primary election from June to February to give the state more clout in picking the nation’s chief executive.

A 45-20 vote sent the bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Ross Johnson (R-La Habra), to an uncertain Senate fate.

It also faces the opposition of Gov. George Deukmejian, who previously said he saw no compelling reason for the proposed change, and expressed concern about the cost involved.

Moving up the presidential primary from June to February would cost as much as $39 million every four years, starting in 1992, according to the legislative analyst’s office. The additional cost would be required for production of new election materials such as ballots and ballot pamphlets. The June election for statewide offices would remain in effect.

The June presidential primary is one of the last held in the nation. As a result, the presidential nominations often are all but decided by the time Californians cast their votes.

“California has roughly 10% of the nation’s population,” Johnson said, “yet we do not have the clout we should have in choosing presidential nominees.”

Noting that presidential candidates spend large amounts of money in states with early primaries, some of it raised in California, he added, “They could pump that additional money into our economy, and offset the cost of the February election.”

Another supporter, Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), declared: “It makes absolutely no sense for us to be at the end of the campaign trail. We are literally disenfranchised from picking the President of the U.S.”

One opponent, Assemblyman Richard L. Mountjoy (R-Monrovia), called the idea a “waste of taxpayers’ dollars.”

Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin (D-Union City), another foe, said she didn’t want the money for the election change to come out of other state programs such as education and welfare.

The Johnson bill would change California’s presidential primary from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June to the Tuesday following the third Monday in February.

It would make California’s presidential primary one of the earliest in the nation. Only four other states, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Maine hold primaries or caucuses in February.