(4) Any state or territory may choose to opt out of their respective pod and hold its primary, caucus or convention later in the cycle. That decision must be made no later than July 1st of the odd numbered year preceding a Presidential election year.

No where does it say anything about the fact that political parties are nothing more than “clubs” – or that the federal election “season” is too long – or that the only beneficiaries of this process are the media outlets who make tons of advertising dollars.

In my opinion – shorten the primary season to 6 months, make it illegal to run any adds, primaries, or caucuses prior to the 6 month date. Breaking up the primaries into “bite” size engagements is a good idea, as is the round-robin nature of voting – I think these are good ideas. Freedom of speech is important – it’s in the Constitution. However, national elections are too important to not have much more strict rules regarding involvement, financing, and timing.

Plus, according to this plan, Iowa and New Hampshire still get to be first! There are 4 states missing from these pods, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Point 3 right after the lottery states they get to go in the first and second weeks right before the small-states pod. So really, everybody wins.