(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States would change the process to choose presidential nominees, according to a poll by Knowledge Networks released by the Associated Press and Yahoo. 80 per cent of respondents call for a system in which states take turns in holding their primaries and caucuses first, while 18 per cent are content with having Iowa and New Hampshire always come first.

Since 1976, the Iowa caucus has kicked off the process of finding presidential nominees for the two major political parties in the United States. The caucus differs from a presidential primary because the casting of ballots in favour of a particular candidate is preceded by a "gathering of neighbours" where specific platform issues are discussed.

New Hampshire traditionally hosts the first presidential primary in the United States. Since 1952, 11 Republicans and eight Democrats have won the Granite State contest and later earned their party’s presidential nomination. New Hampshire allows independent voters to take part in primaries.

Last month, former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis questioned the current process, saying, "What we got now is just incomprehensible. Think about flying back and forth from the East Coast to the West Coast repeatedly. Let these folks campaign in the same time zone for a couple of weeks."

The Iowa caucus will take place on Jan. 3, with the New Hampshire primary following on Jan. 8.

Polling Data

Thinking about the order in which states hold their presidential primaries and caucuses, which would you prefer?

Source: Knowledge Networks / Associated Press / Yahoo
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,821 American adults, conducted from Dec. 14 to Dec. 20, 2007. Margin of error is 2.3 per cent.

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