States may force megaprimary, winnow the 2008 field early

The Boston Globe reported States with more than half the nation's population are zeroing in on Feb. 5 next year to stage their presidential primaries, creating a single day that could determine the major party nominees at a historically early point in the process. At least 19 states have moved or are considering moving their primaries to the first Tuesday in February -- contests that would follow earlier ones in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

A better solution is to divide the 48 states (other than Iowa and New Hampshire) into four different groups, and alternate which group of four have their primaries a month after Iowa and New Hampshire.

If only the 10 largest of the 19 states move their primaries to Feb. 5, more than half the American population will have a chance to go to the polls on the same day, creating a one-day election that would become the prime focus of the campaign.