HARRISBURG -- If Gov. Ed Rendell and the Election Reform Task Force have their way, Pennsylvania's presidential primary election will count in 2008 and 2012.

		On the Internet Read a copy of the task force's report to Gov. Ed Rendell

Instead of continuing to hold the primary at the end of April -- by which time Republicans and Democrats already have anointed their candidates -- Rendell and the 13-member task force recommended votes be cast on the first Tuesday in March.

That way, the state's voters can have a real say in who the presidential candidates will be, they say.

The idea is to give Pennsylvania, with its 12 million citizens, more political clout in the choice of the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees.

The early March primaries would be held on a trial basis for the next two presidential election years, 2008 and 2012, to see how things work out.

"An earlier date would provide Pennsylvanians with a greater voice in the selection of the president, considering the state's electoral importance based on population," said Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes, chairman of the task force appointed by Rendell in December,

Pennsylvania, with 21 electoral votes, does play an important role in the November general election for president, but not during the primaries. In the 2004 presidential election cycle, Pennsylvania's primary was April 27.

Rendell said that although Pennsylvania is the sixth most populous, 26 other states held their presidential primaries before Pennsylvania and the state hadn't had any real influence over the selection of candidates since 1976.

"The governor supports moving the presidential primary up, so that Pennsylvania, one of the nation's largest and most diverse states, will have influence over choosing the nation's candidates for president," said Rendell press secretary Kate Philips.

Putting the primary in early March will require legislation approved by the General Assembly, and that is by no means assured.

Some legislators say that a primary in early March will give them less time to campaign. Also, they'd have to get signatures of voters on their nominating petitions during November and December, when daylight is short, the weather is getting colder and the holidays are making it harder to get signatures.

"There are always concerns when change comes around, but then the changes become part of the system," Philips said. "The governor doesn't believe that moving the primary up is an insurmountable challenge for candidates."

Rendell has often complained that Pennsylvania takes itself out of the presidential candidate selection process by waiting until late April. By then, he said, both major parties have selected their candidates.

In non-presidential election years the Pennsylvania primary is held even later -- in mid-May.

He said Pennsylvania is more representative of America as a whole than small, homogenous states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

With their presidential selection processes in January and early February, Iowa and New Hampshire have much more to say about picking presidential candidates than the Keystone State does.

In other recommendations, the task force advocated:

Making it easier for voters to use absentee ballots, recommending something called "no excuse" absentee ballots, where a person could cast his or her vote via absentee ballot if unable to go to their polling place for any reason.

Allowing the use of "curbside voting" by physically disabled people. The voter could vote at his or her assigned polling place by paper ballot, but outside the building where the polling place is located.

Designating the date of the primary and general election as an in-service day for schools, where teachers would be present but not students. Many polling places are located within schools.

Task force members were named by Rendell, Democratic and Republican leaders of the state House and Senate, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters.

Besides Cortes, members included former Commonwealth Court Judge Robert L. Byer, of Pittsburgh; state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-Bucks; Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania; Blair County Commissioner Donna Gority; and Daniel Shea, an Allegheny College political science professor.