The game of musical chairs that is fast becoming our national primary election schedule got a little more dramatic today. Five Democratic presidential candidates took their names off the ballot in Michigan to protest the new and early date of Michigan’s primary.

Michigan Democrats violated Democratic National Committee rules by moving their primary earlier than the national party stipulates. Michigan’s primary is currently scheduled for January 15th, but according to the rules it shouldn’t be before February 5th. Despite today’s decision by their five colleagues, two presidential candidates, both U.S. Senators, decided to stay on the ballot in Michigan. To find out why, and who they are, check out the AP’s coverage of the story.

To read our previous posts about the primary election tango, and learn more about what an increasingly-earlier primary election season means for the voters of America, click here.