I had heard that Michigan was being stripped all of its voting delegates because they moved their primary up before Super Tuesday. Most of the candidates pulled their name from the ballot, but Hillary Clinton kept her name on the slate. As an Obama supporter, I’m terrified that she could win an uncontested victory… and then, if Michigan’s Democratic party effectively challenges the national party’s decision (or if the national party just rolls over and says “we were just bluffing”), she could garner a disproportionate chunk of Michigan’s 128 pledged delegates overnight, without campaigning, simply by virtue of being the “default” candidate.
So, my questions are:
(1) Is there any sort of legal framework for Michigan to challenge the national party’s decision? I know that a political party can be party to a lawsuit, but I’m not sure what laws are even being contested here, or how vigorous the state’s challenge is.
(2) How can the Michigan Democratic Party refuse to count write-in votes for Barack Obama and John Edwards? (cite) “Uncommitted” just means the delegates are likely to vote for the front-runner, or whomever can negotiate the best back-room deal. A group of write-ins large enough to secure proportional representation from a delegate should remain a valid option. As it is, recent polls show that Obama’s and Edwards’s support in the state do not sum to Uncommitted’s support. Is excluding write-in votes – for any reason – legal?
I’d like to keep things factual, but I recognize that there are a lot of “what-ifs” going on here. If you drift into speculation, fine, whatever; if you want to get bitter, partisan, and start name-calling, let’s take it to the Pit please.
Don’t be. Everyone knows that all of the Democrats are boycotting Michigan and no delegates are at stake. Hillary’s “victory” will receive almost no attention.
The proper venue for settling disputes over delegates is the Democratic National Convention, not the courts. Either the Democratic nomination will be settled before the convention, with every candidate but the winner withdrawing (99.9% probability), or it will not be (0.1% probability). In either case, whichever delegates the Michigan Democratic Party determines to have “won” can report to the convention’s Credentials Committee (and if rejected, can bring a challenge to the floor of the convention) and ask to be seated. Any group which feels that they should have won but were victimized by an unfair process can also make their case.
If the nomination has been settled, the only impact will be moral suasion and impact on future states considering primary leap-frog. If the nomination hasn’t been settled, any decision will obviously be hugely controversial, and all sides will make their case to the media and on the SDMB ad nauseum.
But again, the convention is the final authority. Earlier in American history, when conventions exercised real decision-making responsibility, they had to settle credential challenges on a regular and routine basis, and the courts invariably declined to interfere.
There is a deadline to be a certified write-in candidate, for those who decide to run but miss the deadline for getting printed on the ballot. Most of the Dem candidates, and most of the front-runners, decided to play along with the DNC, and got off the ballot. They could have then certified as a write-in candidate if they wished, but perhaps they decided that 0% is better than 5-15% as a write-in.
FWIW, the Florida primary is in pretty much (or exactly the same) situation as Michigan. I wonder if these uncounted delegates will end up leaving the race undecided into the final Convention?
I’m seriously considering voting Republican in the general election if the person whom I would vote for is not selected as the final candidate and the Republican candidate is not too offensive to me, as a sort of protest against the DNC for ignoring my primary vote.
The Democratic Party has stated they won’t count Michigan delegates in the final count, because of the move to an earlier date. However, that point will probably be contested at the national convention. If it is, all the other states’ delegates will have to vote on the issue.
The delegate count might be clear enough by then that Michigan’s count would not sway it. However, the MI delegates will be peeved to be told they don’t matter. It’s a time-consuming ritual, and they might be faced, once again, with having the nominee finally speak at 2:00 am. :smack:
I thought the DNC only stripped Florida of half it’s delegates. By the way why is the DNC taking such a hard line with Michigan when the Republicans aren’t?
The DNC faced with a public that is very dissatisfied with the current republican administration has to come up with new and interesting ways to alienate the voters if they want to blow this election.
Thanks for the informative replies, everyone. It’s not going to help me sleep better, but I can hope for an obvious blowout one way or the other, and root for McCain on the ® ticket so I don’t have to vote against someone this year.
Heh. It was a tough decision yesterday. Try to outwit the other other side who has no choice and try to sabotage our election, or vote for who I really supported, or vote against the greatest evil on the other side. Makes me wish we had a closed primary (or even a caucus) so that I could really just vote for whom I wanted without worrying about what everyone else will do. Yeah, I know, that just contributes to the problem.
Some game theorist input would be helpful right now!
It is really discouraging that the public pays the costs for an election that is largely controlled by private clubs (i.e., the Democratic & Republican parties). Then, once the clubs decide who we will get to vote for in the general election (that is again paid for by the public), the actual decision of who is actually going to be president is determined by yet another group of people who are not obligated to represent us. I grow more cynical with each election.
Eventually, you will reach an equilibrium, when you are as cynical as you’re ever going to get. When you find that inner balance, will it bring you a feeling of peace? Eh, probably not. :rolleyes: