If you were in charge of a State GOP, what sort of primary system is best?

[angus]

1) primary or caucus?  Caucus, must be present to win.  Have it on a weekend.

1a) open or closed?  open, with same-day registration (or party change)

2) proportional representation, winner-take-all, or winner-take-most?   proportional

3) what minimum threshold for viability?  if one single voter votes for you, then you are viable

4) will you have any loophole primary system like Pennsylvania, or whatever the hell North Dakota did?  no

5) what date?  same day as everyone else in the United States.  Preferably not more than about a month before the general election.

Additional questions: How does your state's composition of GOP voters affect your calculus?  it does not. 

Additional unasked:  I don't think partisan primaries should be taken as seriously as we take them.  I'd much rather work on the general election than the states or the party primaries.  Frankly, I think that the states and the parties should be allowed to do whatever they want, but the actual election for actual offices in November of even-numbered years should be freed from, and in fact totally divorced from, the states and from the primary process generally.  In my opinion political parties should be banned from the entire process, at least for the federal offices.  Of course that would require a constitutional amendment.  (States, of course, are free to devise whatever system they want for electing governors, etc.)

[angus]

5) what date?  same day as everyone else in the United States.  Preferably not more than about a month before the general election.

This would really complicate absentee and military voting. It takes about 3 weeks to certify the results of an election and if one uses the typical 5-6 week period for absentees, then It usually takes 8-10 weeks between a primary and general. If clerks really push I've seen the turnaround down to 6 weeks, but I don't know how to get to a month.

Does it really take a month to certify votes?  Here's a list from the US Election Assistance Commission of certified voting systems.  No estimate is given for timeframes, but military and other absentee voters can fill out ballots in advance and send them.  You may not even need that.  Votes can be made electronically from anywhere in the world.  The Iowa Democratic Party announced that they will allow overseas voters to participate in their caucus by teleconference.  Results can be tabulated immediately and announced the same day.  This leaves plenty of time for run-off elections to be organized in the event that no one gains a majority, which seems likely.  Here's a state-by-state list of laws regarding certification of results.  The timeframes vary greatly by state.  Georgia gives them as little as 14 days.  California gives 35 days.  That really ought to be a priority.  Clear your calendar.  Get it done.  Why on earth would it need 35 days?

I suppose it's really up to the parties.  They seem to like having places like Iowa and New Hampshire narrow down the choices for everyone else, but it's not the system I'd create.  I also really like the idea of de-emphasizing parties.  Obviously political factions are allowed to exist, to recruit, and to endorse, but there's no good reason to allow political parties to set the rules for electing president.  For president, I'd have a primary and let the top two, regardless of political affiliation, run off in a general election, held as soon as possible after the primary.  The shorter time frame is to minimize the effect of money in a way that doesn't require additional legislation.  There's only so much advertising/organizing you can do in a few weeks.