On issues of national importance, it makes sense to get as much voter input as possible. Maine’s current system of caucusing to select a presidential candidate does not allow that ”“ and that’s a problem.

A last-minute bill submitted earlier this week, LD 1882, would correct this, returning Maine to a primary system by 2016 instead of the caucuses it’s held for the past several years. The timing of the bill isn’t ideal, as it comes at the last minute during a busy legislative session, but it has merit nonetheless.

The bill, sponsored by Senate President Kevin Raye, R-Perry, is undoubtedly in response to this year’s presidential caucus debacle. The caucus, to choose a Republican candidate to run against President Barack Obama in November, provided a perfect example of the inefficiency of this process. The caucuses were on various dates, depending on the town, and some towns consolidated their efforts in one central hub, such as the one hosted in Sanford. The events ran from 8 a.m. to at least noon in most locations, all throughout the state, and gathered a total of only 6,250 votes. That’s out of 256,520 registered Republicans in the state, according to the February 2012 Secretary of State records.

Most people cannot or do not want to dedicate an entire Saturday morning to the voting process, but would still like to be able to cast their votes. For those who can’t travel, or have work or caretaking responsibilities, attending a half-day caucus is simply not possible. And in this format, all of those voters are cut out of the process because absentee ballots are not available. 

In addition to the lack of full representation, the caucus process this year showed how it is an unreliable way to collect votes. Many Republican votes were effectively negated as the party announced Mitt Romney as the winner on Feb. 11, well before several towns had even held their caucuses. Not only that, but some of those votes allegedly went uncounted, which put the Republican party squarely in the sights of detractors.

In a democracy, we should be taking pains to give more people the opportunity to vote, not fewer. Yes, the Republican nomination should be up to registered Republicans to decide, but not only those who are die-hard party supporters with a lot of time on their hands and the ability to attend the caucus.

As a nation, we’ve had trouble counting votes before from ballots ”“ it’s not a fail safe ”“ but it’s a more straightforward way to gather votes, and easier to doublecheck.

Not only will a primary system help to ensure that more voters have a say in the primary election process, it can also be a boost for the local economy. During and leading up to the New Hampshire Republican primary, the state was mobbed with campaigners, media and political analysts who undoubtedly helped give the area an influx of money this past January. Granted, New Hampshire’s primary is the first in the nation and helps set the stage for the rest of the race, but all of the primaries have been well-covered and generated a lot of interest this year. Maine’s isn’t that much later anyway, with voting in mid-to-late February, and our votes still have an impact on determining who is going to stick it out and who’s going to call it a day. If we have one day when all registered voters cast their ballots for the candidate of their choice, it’s much more likely to draw media attention than a bunch of half-day meetings scattered throughout the month.

It’s clear that a primary would be a better system for Mainers when it comes to determining who we’ll endorse to run for our nation’s highest office. Once we move on from caucuses, we’ll just need to reconsider those local Town Meetings, which have the same inherent problems of low turnout, access and representation.

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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.