A committee hearing a week from now, on April 18, will begin the process of deciding whether to radically move up the date of the California Presidential Primary vote in 2020, finally maybe giving our enormous state some influence on the primary season commensurate with our population.

The currently late primary, in June, can dilute the influence of California's massive voter base, some critics argue: 19.4 million Californians are registered to vote, the most of any state in the nation. The bill would reschedule the CA primary for the third Tuesday of March, authorizing the Governor to change it to even earlier if other states move up their primaries.

“A state as populous and diverse as California should not be an afterthought," a press release issued today quotes California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. "Moving up the California primary in 2020 makes sense and will give California voters a more significant role. By holding our primary earlier, we will ensure that issues important to Californians are prioritized by presidential candidates from all political parties,” Padilla said.

Senator Ricardo Lara authored the bill, SB 568, because "Californians’ voices are silenced when it comes to choosing presidential nominees."

Indeed, the difference an earlier primary could make is difficult to discount. "In 2016, the two candidates had nearly sewn up their party’s nomination by the time our state’s primary election was held in June," Assembly Speaker pro Tempore, Kevin Mullin said. As the world’s 6th largest economy with the nation’s largest population, it’s absurd that California had no real say in who the presidential candidates would be.”

Last June, more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans voted in our state primary. 56 percent of those Democrats voted for Hillary Clinton. Of course, plenty of Californians didn't wait until June to cast their ballot — making their decision by mail significantly in advance of others in the state who actually went to the polls.

Related: More Than Twice As Many Democrats As Republicans Voted In The California Primary