Defenders of Minnesota’s caucus system describe it as a way for average citizens to meet and not only cast a vote on their preference for who their party’s presidential candidate should be, but to take part in designing their party’s platform.

Those caucuses, run by the political parties, do offer some input on platforms. But for most attendees, their main objective is simply to voice who they support to be their party’s endorsed candidates.

This spring’s caucuses, fueled by massive turnouts, particularly on the Republican side, showed the major flaws with the caucus system. More than 110,000 people attended GOP caucuses, a record-shattering number spurred by the Trump candidacy. Unfortunately for many of those people, they never got to cast a preference vote as they left early, exasperated by lines that stretched on for hours, a lack of ballots and general confusion among those trying to run the caucuses.

The DFL turnout was not as strong, but the same problems plagued their meetings.

Thankfully, the Legislature has recognized the flaws in the caucus system and passed a bill moving the state to a primary system. The bill, signed by the governor, will kick in during the next presidential election in 2020.

A primary will have a number of benefits. People can vote for their party’s candidates at the same familiar polling locations they go to during the general election and be able to cast their vote anytime during the day or evening. And primaries open the door to same-day registration, absentee voting and other flexibility that will allow more people to more easily participate.

It will also give Minnesota voters a more visible place at the campaign table. Nationally, primaries are more effective than caucuses in terms of selecting presidential nominees.

While the caucus has been the standard in Minnesota since the 1950s, the primary system is not new to the state. Minnesota used the primary system through much of the early 20th century.

It’s nice to see it return. Come the next presidential contest, more Minnesotans will more easily be able to influence who their party’s presidential nominee is.