At this point in the evolution of our government, it probably makes sense for political parties to choose their candidates via primary elections. A primary is likely to result in a better approximation of the the candidate(s) that the majority of party members actually want than choosing them in convention. After all conventions typically occur relatively late in the election cycle and are usually attended by a small percentage of party insiders, while primaries are open to the general public.

It probably also makes sense for the government to run the primary elections on behalf of the political parties. The government runs elections on a regular basis. They often have standing arrangements for use of facilities and voting machines, and procedures for secure counting of votes. It may be less efficient and more expensive for each party to arrange these services on their own than to subcontract them from the state.

What does not make sense is for the taxpayers to foot the bill for a private and partisan election that is of interest only to a relatively small percentage of political party members. Even in hotly contested General Elections it is rare for a majority of Delaware's citizens to cast a vote, and Delaware is typically among the highest voter turnout percentages in the nation.

Why not have the state keep a careful tally of the cost of running the primaries and charge each party for the percentage proportional to the number of votes cast for its candidates. It makes sense. Governments charge user fees for other services they provide to private businesses and individuals. Any party that did not wish to incur the expense of a Primary Election could choose its candidates by any other method allowed by law. Delaware is a small state; it would not impose undue inconvenience on interested major party members to travel to a nominating convention like the minor parties do now.

Here's how it could work in Delaware:

Starting in 2010 any political party with a contested nomination would notify the Dept. of Elections of its intention to hold a primary election by the filing date. Minor parties requesting primaries could be charged a nominal filing fee to offset the cost of determining which districts would need additional personnel or equipment to accommodate them. A party would only be required to hold a primary if __% of its registered members explicitly requested it from the Dept. of Elections by the filing date. After the results were announced each party would billed for its share of the costs based on how many votes were cast for its candidates.