PRIMARY, Direct. A direct primary is an election held by political parties at which candidates for nomination are chosen directly by the voters of those parties. Under this method, voters select their nominees directly, whereas under the delegate or convention system the voters send their delegates to a convention at which the party candidate is norninted (see CONVENTION, PouncAr..). The convention system was so indirect in its methods and so many times accompanied by sharp practices on the part of rings of professional politicians and office-holders that a more effec tive method of nominating candidates was sought in order that nominees should repre sent the will of the rank and file of the party who cannot make politics their business. More over, the'argument was advanced that the mass of the party members would regain control of the government of the party and the electors would exhibit a greater interest in party nominations. This has proven to be the case, the vote at the primaries as a rule being larger than under the delegate system, while the party electorate expresses its will more directly and effectively, thus making the party rulers more amenable to the party will. Even though the bosses may prepare a nomination or list of candidates at a preliminary or pre-primary caucus, the rejection of these candidates or the elimination of the unfit is an easy task. since the primary practically amounts to a referendum on the caucus nominees. Hence, party leaders are directly responsible for the personal qualities and principles of the can didates presented, and would scarely run the risk of discredit and overthrow by having the party electorate repudiate their candidates. In Oregon and some other States each candidate is afforded an opportunity to give widespread publicity to his platform or principles; the pictures and statements of all the candidates are printed and bound in a publicity pamphlet, which, for a small consideration, is distributed to the voters before the primary. In Wisconsin a candidates' convention frames the platform, the convention consisting of all party candidates for State offices and for the legislature and of any members of the senate who have held over. Thus the voter receives a concrete statement of the policy by both the legislative and executive departments. In Missouri the State central committee, together with the party nominees for State office, for the legislature and for Congress, formulate the platform. In Oregon, when the petition is fited, the candidate may set forth his principles in a paragraph of not more than 100 words, and he is also allowed a 12-word sentence upon the ballot. If 10 per cent of the party voters in Texas petition, a question of party policy must be submitted to the voters at the primary and the party cannot be pledged to any policy which has not been endorsed by a majority of the voters.
In most States a mere plurality of votes cast determines the nomination, but in the Southern States a clear majority is often re quired and if no candidate should receive the necessary number of votes a second primary is held at which only the two leading candidates are considered. Some States use the minimum percentage plan, Iowa requiring 35 per cent of the total vote, while Michigan requires 40 per cent for governor and lieutenant-governor.
Idaho, North Dakota, Wisconsin and a few other States have adopted a system known as preferential voting, under which first and second choices for a given office are indicated and if no candidate receives a majority of first choice, the lowest candidate is dropped and the second choices are then distributed. The object of the preferential vote is to eliminate a second ballot and to prevent the choice of a candidate by plurality only. In some cases even third choices may be indicated.
The advent of the direct primary has had a large influence on the personnel and character of the national government, since it affects the choice of senators, representatives, Presidential electors and delegates to national conventions. The application of direct primaries to senators and representatives has been provided for without extended discussion, but the States have been slow in applying the system to the choice of delegates to the national nominating conventions. Wisconsin started the movement and several other States have pro vided for a direct vote for delegates. The next move is to have the electors of each party in each State at the direct primary instruct their delegates to the national convention as to the party preference for Presidential nominee. A primary law extended to Presidential nomi nations was adopted by Oregon in 1910 and since that time the Presidential preference primary has been adopted by many States. (See PRIMARY, PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE). After all the States have adopted the plan of choosing their delegates to conventions by direct primary, the next logical step (though its adoption is now very problematical) is to provide for the nomination of a Presidential candidate by the direct popular vote of the en tire party. This would soon result in a direct vote of the whole country for President and thus eliminate the antiquated electorial college (q.v.). In most cities the direct primary has been discarded in order to eliminate national party politics and in its place non-partisan pri maries and nomination by petition only have been substituted. See ELECTIONS.
The earliest system of direct selection of candidates was the Crawford County system used in Pennsylvania in the sixties, but though this was adopted in the Southern, Central and Western States, its use was not general until the nineties. Minnesota adopted the direct primary for Hennepin County in 1899 but Wis consin by her law of 1903 was the first State to adopt this method for all nominations. The State-wide direct primary is now used in al most all of the States; it was adopted by Oregon in 1904; by Iowa, Missouri. North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Wash ington in 1907; by Ohio, Kansas and Oklahoma in 1908• by California, Nevada, Idaho, Ten nessee, Michigan and New Hampshire in 1909; by Arizona in 1909 and 1912; by Illinois, Mary land and Colorado in 1910; by Wyoming, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maine in 1911; by Minnesota, Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana and Montana in 1912; by New York, Pennsylvania and Florida in 1913; and by Ver mont, Indiana and West Virginia in 1915; while in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas it is conducted under the rules of the Democratic party but has not been established by statute for all parties. See BALLOT; CONVENTION, POLITICAL; CAUCUS; ELECTIONS.