After a two-day process in Washington, members of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee selected South Carolina as the first state to vote in the 2028 presidential primary process during a preliminary vote on Friday.
The vote is the first procedural hurdle the state needed to clear to lead off the Democratic nominating calendar in 2028.
The committee will spend the rest of Friday deciding the order of the five other states that will round out the early nominating schedule before Super Tuesday, when several states hold their primaries simultaneously.
The full DNC membership will finalize the order at its next meeting in Austin, Texas, in August.
The 49-member panel selected the schedule after a 10-month process that included eight public meetings and presentations from 12 states making their case for an early voting slot. Those 12 states were from all four geographic regions in the United States: Delaware, New Hampshire, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Nevada, and New Mexico.
“It was critical, as we said, that every state who wanted to be a part of this process had an opportunity to be heard,” said DNC chairman Ken Martin on Thursday about the rigorous process. “And I think we’re better off for not only listening but truly, actually engaging each of them in conversation and making sure that we heard them out.”
South Carolina is on track to vote first in the 2028 Democratic primary after winning 26 of the 49 votes to beat out Nevada, Michigan, South Carolina, and New Hampshire.
Concerns about Nevada’s voting process dominated the discussion before the panel voted. DNC member Stuart Appelbaum told the panel, “When I have to choose between Nevada and South Carolina, what concerns me is that votes in Nevada can still be counted five days after the primary has been held.”
Christale Spain, chairwoman of South Carolina’s Democratic Party, reminded the panel that South Carolina has two weeks of early voting and typically votes on Saturday. “We don’t ever have issues with our primary,” Spain said. “We deliver results on Election Day.”
Artie Blanco, a Nevada DNC member and DNC vice chairwoman, defended her state’s laws in her remarks to the panel: “Our election laws are designed to make it possible for all working people to have access to ballots.”
“We should not be penalized as a state for making it easier for working people to vote, shift workers to vote,” Blanco said.
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An amendment adding a sixth state to the lineup was nominated by DNC member Michael Kapp, who said that having six early voting states “eliminates demographic gaps” and “protects grassroots candidates” who could build momentum “before costs skyrocket on Super Tuesday.”
The amendment was unanimously agreed upon, with Virginia and New Mexico likely to round out the early voting slots after the states representing the four geographical regions of the nation are decided.