Too much influence

Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, is the first community to vote in the state’s primary election. The registered voters arrive before midnight, so they are ready to cast their ballots at the first tick of election day. The community has had a 100 percent voter turnout for decades.

This year, all nine Dixville Notch voters cast their votes. Bernie Sanders won on the Democratic side. John Kasich won on the Republican side.

It’s a quaint tradition.

Not so quaint a tradition is the inordinate effort of presidential candidates to win in two non-representative states. First come the Iowa caucuses, then...