PRIMARY, Presidential Preference, a method adopted by some States of applying the direct primary to the choice of delegates to national political conventions. A widespread be lief that the national conventions, in their entire membership, had not been truly representative of the party voters and did not reflect the pref erence of the majority resulted in the enactment of laws for the choosing of delegates directly by the party voters in official primaries. The laws passed by the States vary regarding the degree of directness with which the preference is expressed and the measure of certainty of its being carried into effect. Under the Cali fornia and South Dakota laws, a number of candidates, corresponding to the number of delegates to which the State is entitled, may file a nominating petition as a group, pledged to the interest of a given candidate for Presi dent. These names are placed on the ballot together and the voter may by one mark cast his ballot for the entire group at once. Before a group may be placed on the ballot, the law requires that not less than one nor more than three of the persons named reside in the same Congressional district; and the group must also have the endorsement of the Presidential can didate whose cause it has espoused or of a State organization possessing his confidence. In Illinois, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Ohio the Congressional district is the unit for electing delegates. In Illinois the candidate for delegate must file with his nomination petition a statement of his preference for President or a statement that he has no choice; and on the official primary ballot the preference or lack of preference is printed beneath the name of each candidate. In Ohio the delegate files a first and second choice for President, both of which are printed on the ballot, but the candi date as an alternative may state that if elected he will support for President the candidate receiving the majority of the preference votes. The New Hampshire law simply permits candi dates for delegate or delegates at large to pledge that if elected they will vote at the national convention for a given candidate for the Presi dential nomination as long as his name remains before the convention. The delegates from Oregon and Montana are elected at large, but in order to secure minority representation the voter is allowed to cast his ballot for one per son only as a delegate. Those candidates re ceiving the largest number of votes are declared elected. A direct Presidential preference vote is held at the same time and candidates for delegate pledge themselves under oath to accept the popular choice. Delegates from Pennsyl
vania and North Dakota are bound by the pref erence vote but the vote is not binding on dele gates from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin. The Iowa ballot con tains the names of candidates for President and Vice-President, party national committeemen, delegates at large, district delegates, and alter nates of the last two. The voter is also called upon to decide by a vote of yes or no whether district delegates to the national convention shall be instructed by the vote of the State at large or by the vote of the Congressional dis trict. Maryland combines a preference vote with an election of delegates by a State con vention. The county delegates to the State convention are instructed by the voters of the county to support a certain candidate and must do so as long as this candidate has the support of nine counties. The Presidential candidate receiving the votes of a majority of the dele gates becomes the choice of the State party and must be given the support of the State delega tion at the national convention. A majority of the Presidential primary laws are mandatory. Since Presidential primaries are held under the regular primary laws, candidates for delegate, in order to have their names placed upon the ballot, must file nominating papers. Likewise in most of the States having such laws, Presi dential candidates, either personally or by duly authorized State organizations, must file petfr tions signed by a designated percentage of their party supporters in the State. In 1910 Oregon extended her primary law to Presidential nomi nations and in 1913 applied direct nomination to the office of national committeemen; she was followed in 1911 by New Jersey, North Da kota, Nebraska and Wisconsin; in 1912 by Cali fornia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Montana and Michigan; in 1913 by New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota and Iowa; in 1914 by Texas, and in 1915 by Vermont, Indiana and North Carolina.
Bibliography.— Barnett, J. D., 'Presidential Primary in Oregon' (in Political Science Quarterly, Vol. XXXI, pp. 81-104, Lancaster, Pa., 1916); Dickey, F. W., The Presidential Preference Primary' (in American Political Science Review, Vol. IX, pp. 467-487. Baltimore 1915) •, Hart, A. B., The Direct Primary vs. the Convention) (in (Proceedings) of the Academy of Political Science, New York, Vol. III, pp. 210-219, January 1913) ; Woodburn, J. A., (Political Parties and Party Problems' (rev. ed., New York 1914).