California legislators voted Thursday to hold the state’s next presidential primary just after early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, giving Golden State voters a greater voice in the nominating process.

Two measures passed by the Senate and the Assembly would both set California’s primary for the third Tuesday in March. Minor differences between the two bills mean legislators would have to reconcile the versions before they send it to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for a signature.

California held its presidential primaries in June in 2012 and 2016, long after the Republican nominating contests were decided. Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Virginia Democrat blasts Trump's 'appalling' remark about COVID-19 deaths in 'blue states' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE won the 2016 Democratic primary by a narrow margin over Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Schumer, Sanders call for Senate panel to address election security MORE (I-Vt.). Clinton also won the 2008 state primary, which was held in February, over then-Sen. Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaGOP senator blocks Schumer resolution aimed at Biden probe as tensions run high D-Day for Trump: September 29 Obama says making a voting plan is part of 'how to quarantine successfully' MORE (D-Ill.) as the two began a long slog toward Obama’s eventual nomination.

Lawmakers say moving the contest closer to the head of the calendar would ensure their state maintains its relevance in the process.

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“The largest and most diverse state in the union should not be an afterthought,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D), who introduced the Senate version of the bill.

“Under the current June primary schedule, candidates fly in for fundraising and then fly right back out again,” said Assemblyman Kevin Mullin (D), the sponsor of the House version.

Moving to the third Tuesday in March would put California’s delegates up for grabs just weeks after the nominating contests are scheduled to start in February and after a handful of other contests in big states like Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Virginia and Ohio.

The nominating calendar is far from finalized, and states are likely to jockey with each other as they vie for influence in coming years. The Democratic and Republican National Committees must formally approve every state’s plans for nominating contests, though those approval processes are years off.

At least 18 states and six territories haven’t even set proposed dates for their contests in 2020, according to Frontloading HQ, a blog on the nominating process maintained by University of Georgia political scientist Josh Putnam.

The California legislation would give the state’s next governor the authority to tinker with the mid-March date in 2020 if other states rush toward the front of the line too.

Brown has not said whether he will sign the legislation. Brown scored 40 percent of the vote in the 1992 Democratic primaries in California, long after Bill Clinton William (Bill) Jefferson ClintonD-Day for Trump: September 29 Trump job approval locked at 42 percent: Gallup If Trump doesn't know why he should be president again, how can voters? MORE had secured the party’s nomination but before Brown formally withdrew from the race.