Although the first presidential primary election is still a ways away, interest in the races is starting to build.

On the Republican ticket, it seems like new candidates are announcing their bids for the presidency on a daily basis. So far, 23 candidates have entered the race for the GOP nomination, including such well-known names as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, and current senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida.On the Democratic side, former U.S. Sen. and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looked invincible just a couple of months ago. But since then, her popularity has been dropping at the polls, and three Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former governor and U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee have announced their intentions to battle her for the Democratic presidential nomination.So, it all looks like it should be a very interesting couple of months next winter and early spring as the candidates battle it out for the nominations of their respective parties.The only problem is that as things stand right now, Pennsylvania voters won't share in any of that excitement or interest. The commonwealth's primary election is April 26, by which time the candidates for both parties should have their nominations locked up. It's been that way since the 1950s when primaries became the dominant force in the nomination of presidential candidates.There is a chance the election could be moved up to give Pennsylvania voters a say-so in who gets the nominations. State Rep. Keith Greiner, a Republican from Leola, is proposing a measure moving Pennsylvania's presidential primary to March 15, the same date as other primaries in Florida, Illinois, and Missouri. Such a lineup would potentially make that Tuesday a pivotal point in the GOP presidential primary.However, the move has been criticized by the chairs of both the Democratic and Republican parties. GOP chair Rob Gleason and his Democratic counterpart Jim Burns contend that such a change would force candidates to move up the dates for the circulation of their petitions to the holidays.That's true, but the concern would be more understandable if the election involved local candidates, many of whom haven't gone through the complex petition process before. The only candidates running next year will be those seeking office for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania Legislature. The vast majority of candidates for those offices are familiar with the petition process, so it seems obvious that Pennsylvania lawmakers don't want anything about the election changed for fear that it could affect the outcome of their elections. No one's going to come out and admit that, but is there any other real reason for lawmakers not backing Greiner's bill?Of course, the only recourse is for voters to contact their legislators and let them know they'd like to see the primary moved up next spring. You never know. If enough voters contact their lawmakers and enough pressure is brought to bear, your vote in one of the most interesting and exciting presidential primaries in years just might count after all.Beaver County Times