Republicans May Overhaul Primaries After Chaos of 2016

WASHINGTON — Leaders of the Republican Party have begun internal deliberations over what would be fundamental changes to the way its presidential nominees are chosen ...

Party leaders are even going so far as to consider diluting the traditional status of Iowa and New Hampshire as gatekeepers to the presidency, by pairing them in one proposal with other states holding nominating contests on the same day as a way to give more voters a meaningful role much sooner.

But in a move that would sharply limit who can participate in presidential primaries, many party activists are also pushing to close Republican contests to independent voters, arguing that open primaries in some states allowed Donald J. Trump, whose conservative convictions they deeply mistrust, to become the presumptive nominee.

Given the dissatisfaction with the rules in both parties, officials say, some combination of changes for 2020 is almost certain.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/us/politics/republican-primary-schedule.html?_r=0