Jim Splaine

The Rules Committee of the Republican National Committee has adopted a plan that would preserve New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary status.

By a vote of 28 to 12, the committee passed the "Ohio plan" that would allow New Hampshire to be the first primary state and specifies that South Carolina follow New Hampshire.

"This is an important first step in the process of preserving our first in the nation primary. There is broad consensus that our Republican nominating process has worked well, and the way John McCain earned our nomination is prima facia evidence of that," Fergus Cullen, Chairman of New Hampshire Republicans, said in a statement.

The Senate Election Law and Internal Affairs Committee voted unanimously for a bill that would allow seventeen-year olds to vote in primaries.

The law would allow any seventeen-year old to vote in a primary, as long as they turn eighteen by the date of the general election.