As the 1968 convention had commanded, the Democratic Party empaneled a rules reform commission to examine the party’s nomination process, most notably the rules governing how national convention delegates were selected. Following a series of public meetings, the McGovern-Fraser Commission adopted eighteen guidelines that would fundamentally reshape the presidential nomination process in the party. To comply with the new guidelines, many states adopted the presidential primary, and, unlike early primary elections, the new primaries had to allow voters to choose which presidential candidate they supported (either by registering their preference directly or by choosing delegates whose candidate preference was expressly listed on the ballot). The new primaries also became binding, ensuring that the winner of a state’s primary election actually received the support of the delegates from that state. The end result was a nomination process that empowered ordinary voters for the first time in American history, and, because the new primaries were codified in state law, the McGovern-Fraser reforms also had the effect of democratizing the Republicans’ nomination process as well.