Nevada Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson and Assemblywomen Teresa Benitez-Thompson and Brittney Miller introduced Assembly Bill 126 Monday to move Nevada from a presidential caucus to a primary system.

Caucuses were once the most common method of choosing presidential nominees. In 2020 only four states—Iowa, Nevada, North Dakota and Wyoming—held either a Democratic or Republican caucus. In Nevada, the parties directly manage their respective caucuses, as opposed to state and local election offices. However, the process has come under fire lately for its long waits and lack of accessibility.

Primaries, on the other hand, are a direct, statewide process of selecting candidates and delegates. Similar to the general election process, primary voters cast secret ballots for the candidates of their choosing. The results are used to determine the configuration of delegates at the national convention of each party. AB 126 specifies that minor political parties do not participate in the presidential preference primary election.

Following the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries, Nevada is currently the third state in the presidential nominating process and the first in the West. AB 126 would change the date of the 2024 Nevada primary to January 23, making it the first nominating contest in the US. However, a provision in the bill would require the secretary of state to move the primary if another Western state tries to schedule its nominating contest earlier.