Horserace
March 13, 2008 2:09 PM

Florida's Re-Vote Proposal Off The Table Already?

The Florida Democratic is urging the two presidential campaigns the DNC and Florida Democratic leaders to "consider" a proposal that would amount to a re-vote in the state's presidential primary via a combination of mail-in and in-person voting on June 3rd. Here’s the statement released this afternoon:
Last night, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen L. Thurman sent a memo to the Presidential candidates, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, and Florida Democratic leaders, urging them to consider a combined vote-by-mail/in-person election.

"Democrats are passionate, and Democrats are energized. We can capture this enthusiasm if we come together around a solution that offers the people of Florida a voice in the nominating process," Thurman said. "If this proposal isn't what the people want, that's okay. We're putting something on the table, but it's by no means a done deal."

"The Florida Democratic Party welcomes any and all suggestions about how to move forward. However, at this point, the Party has not been offered any other option that would allow all of Florida Democratic voters - whether they're fighting in Iraq, retiring in Boca, raising horses in Ocala, or entertaining families at Disney - the opportunity to participate, other than the January 29th primary that the DNC will not recognize."
The memo, which can be viewed here, cites a poll of the 1.75 million Democrats who participated in January's primary which found that 59 percent favored a re-vote and that just 63 percent said they were "committed to sticking" with the party's nominee should Florida remain on the sidelines of the nomination battle. The AP reports that Thurman will make a final decision about going forward with the proposal by Monday but "she said based on what she's already heard, it's unlikely to happen."
Tags:
Clinton ,
Obama ,
Florida ,
Re-vote
Topics:
Florida
Add a Comment See all 21 Comments
by klingon69 March 14, 2008 5:49 PM EDT
Ok, I have a simple solution to all this candidate nonsense.
Put Clinton and Obama into an arean, let them battle it out, and the winner will be the next Demo candidate.
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by craigh9 March 14, 2008 3:32 PM EDT
This is so ridiculous-

-Florida and Michigan bosses make a decision based solely to get more exposure by moving up their primary.

-Florida and Michigan bosses were informed of consequences of doing so but make a concious decision to go forward anyway with the new time table.

-The candidates were informed of the consequences and agreed to them, including not campaigning there.

-The candidate that would benefit most from having these tainted elections count is shocked that the people of Florida and Michigan won''''t be heard - when this information was known and agreed to months before.

-The Florida and Michigan bosses are shocked that the consequences they knew about will actually be followed through on.

-The Florida and Michigan bosses now claim the DNC is somehow to blame for the situation and need to take action.

I feel sorry for the people of Florida and Michigan that their votes and delegates will not count - but put your anger where it belongs - squarely on the party bosses and election officals that have made Florida the laughing stock of the nation when it comes to the election process and is now having Michigan run a close second.

The only action required by the DNC is to stand by their decision and MAYBE, JUST MAYBE the states will abide by the ground rules next time.


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by b-easy63 March 14, 2008 2:23 PM EDT
this will be a mess no matter what--because who is to say Edwards would not have won in Michigan if his name had still been on the ballot, and that such info might have provided momentum to his race as well? Even if they just award delegates to the 2 people still in the race, it disregards the other person in the race at that time and the potential different outcome if those votes had counted.
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by b-easy63 March 14, 2008 2:20 PM EDT
Well, at least CBS is not referring to this as a potential vote recount, anymore. Where do they get their writers from? LOL
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by adarkstorm March 14, 2008 2:46 AM EDT
If she steals the election using Michigan and Florida as Trojan horses, the Democrats can look forward to an election season of demonstrations and picketing from August to November.



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Posted by nmben at 03:06 PM : Mar 13, 2008
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!
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by greenfun March 13, 2008 10:44 PM EDT
Why are Obama supporters so threatened by a re-vote, when Obama himself says we need to respect the wish of the voters? It appears that the voters in Florida and Michigan are the ones pushing the hardest to have their votes count.
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by torch1000us1 March 13, 2008 9:36 PM EDT
karela33

You counldn''t have said it better.
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by torch1000us1 March 13, 2008 9:34 PM EDT
Funny, CLINTON and OBAMA agreed in advance, many times, for those votes NOT TO COUNT.

Now CLINTON is saying those votes NEED TO COUNT.

WHY?? BECAUSE CLINTON IS LOSING. If she were ahead by 200 delegates she would be fighting tooth and nail for those states NOT TO COUNT. Guaranteed!!

That''''s the real story here...Posted by boatdocster

That is the BEST post about this mess I have read so far. I am not against a re-vote. I am against the votes standing as they are now. Fair is Fair. These two states were warned in advance their votes would be disqualified, the state officials are to blame for this mess.

Clinton and Obama agreed, let what they agreed upon stand. You cannot change the rules just to support one canadite.
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by realpatriot1 March 13, 2008 7:52 PM EDT
kstar,

Read the article; it''s Clinton''s own people who are realizing that it''s too late for a recount.

Where Michigan is concerned they should give her the 52% she won and award him the 46% who came out in the snow to vote none of the above with only her on the ballot.

The true irony of all this is that if Michigan & Florida had stayed back as the rules required they would truly be playing a pivotal role now.
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by vet_sk March 13, 2008 7:47 PM EDT
Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz who is a big Clinton supporter just admitted on CNN that this revote is likely not going to happen but Clinton and Obama are working on finding a way to seat the delegates... by splitting the difference of what Hillary got in January and what Obama would be projected to get now.

She went on to say that a mail-in ballot would not work because it took Oregon, a much smaller state, 10 years to get it right. Florida she said cannot afford to mess up another vote.

She said that both Clinton and Obama are working on such a plan. Might be a good way to put this behind us.

Dems, we have all said some harsh stuff about our candidates. Certainly they are both qualified; most of their policies are incredibly close. The big difference is who we want representing us. And I believe with the world the way it is right now, we need someone like Obama who can unite the United States and the world to move forward to a better place. Admirmal Fallon resigned this week because the US is unwilling to have diplomatic relations with our enemies. This is Obama''s plan and his strenth..
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by boatdocster March 13, 2008 7:39 PM EDT
The only raason Obama is against those states counting is because he expects them to favor Clinton. If the shoe was on the other foot, boy would you hear him scream.


Posted by PVperson at 03:28 PM : Mar 13, 2008
+ report abuse

Funny, CLINTON and OBAMA agreed in advance, many times, for those votes NOT TO COUNT.

Now CLINTON is saying those votes NEED TO COUNT.

WHY?? BECAUSE CLINTON IS LOSING. If she were ahead by 200 delegates she would be fighting tooth and nail for those states NOT TO COUNT. Guaranteed!!

That''s the real story here...
Reply to this comment
by kstar42 March 13, 2008 7:39 PM EDT
If she steals the election using Michigan and Florida as Trojan horses, the Democrats can look forward to an election season of demonstrations and picketing from August to November.



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Posted by nmben at 03:06 PM : Mar 13, 2008

My mistake try it again!If they do a re-vote and clinton wins in florida and michigan how is that cheating? Votes do count and they should count!
Reply to this comment
by kstar42 March 13, 2008 7:38 PM EDT
It''''s PSTD, because I am safe in my home with my husband and kids. I just don''''t ever feel safe in my sleep.


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Posted by Cas2dy at 01:56 PM : Mar 13, 2008

If they do a re-vote and clinton wins in florida and michigan how is that cheating? Votes do count and they should count!
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by mollydtt March 13, 2008 7:15 PM EDT
I wonder what Florida will think up in 2012 or 2016 to mess up those elections. This is getting pretty irritating.
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by karela33 March 13, 2008 7:01 PM EDT
P.s. Check this out please. I did. The republicans did vote to change the democratic primary--BUT, the democrats voted for it too. It was a big bi-partisan effort. Since when is it fair to change the rules in the middle of the game because you''re losing? Would you teach your kids to play like this?
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by karela33 March 13, 2008 6:53 PM EDT
Mail voting is very successful in Oregon. HOWEVER, in Oregon all voter signatures have been scanned in and can be authenticated which is essential. I believe I am correct in saying that Florida has already had to throw out a mail in election because of fraud--a major mayoral election? Our party really can''t risk that. Maybe it just has to go to the convention committee.
It is not Senator Obama''s fault if a secure and fair way cannot be found with the time and money available.
I am from Michigan. I am very angry with the state democratic party for playing a game of chicken that disenfranchised me. They knew the risk. They didn''t ask me. But to come at this point and try to claim that either MI or FL had a fair campaign and election is ludicrous.
I have felt angry too, but I am going to support my party no matter what. The alternative of another four years of Bush policies is too horrendous to contemplate.Four thousand Americans are dead.Another thirty thousand have awful wounds. A hundred and fifty thousand men, women and children Iraquis are dead. Don''t you think it''s time to give our egos a rest and take care of the important stuff. The difference in the platforms of these two candidates is tiny.The real deal is in November and the real dangers are the platforms of the opposing party. Both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton are the relative good guys here. Come on home to peace. Be the democrat you''d be proud of if your kids told you about it.
Love,
K
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by pvperson March 13, 2008 6:42 PM EDT
I keep hearing how the people brought this on themselves, NOT SO. The REPUBLICAN legislature of Florida changed the primary date for both parties. Let''s look at something a member said at the time: "We have people who get invited to a big party where they drop a balloon and people wear funny hats,%u201D said Marco Rubio, speaker of the State House of Representatives. %u201CBut they don%u2019t have any role to play.%u201D

%u201CAt the end of the day,%u201D said Mr. Rubio, a REPUBLICAN, %u201Cthe truth of the matter is that the nominee of either party is going to want to make sure they have not offended the big donors and the biggest activists in the most important state in the country that is electorally available.%u201D And because of the republicans, 1.5 million democrats don''t count.

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by PulSamsara March 13, 2008 6:41 PM EDT
We want actual voters to be heard right ! ?

Soooooooooo People:

Re - Vote Michigan and Florida

just as long as we

Get RID of the SUPERDELEGATE vote too !

This might be too much about DEMOCRACY though !
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by notopennshut March 13, 2008 6:28 PM EDT
Revote ONLY if both hold new primaries. If not, NO delegates to be seated. There are consequences for anyone who knowingly break the rules and they should not be rewarded. The national committee is there for a reason and if they become irrelevant, this will just become a "banana" committee. You must abide by the rules and principles. If FL and MI are the ones to bring down the party, you can lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of the democrat leaders of these states and only these states. You all know who they support and in their quest to push their candidate ahead, they have sown the seeds of dissent and destruction. So remember the names of Granholm, Levin, Nelson and etc...
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by pvperson March 13, 2008 6:28 PM EDT
How the h.e.l.l is it stealing the election by wanting the delegate votes to count? The nomination is SUPPOSED to go to the person that gets the most votes and that would count Florida/Michiogan voters. Obama people argue that Obama didn''t campaign in Florida, niether did Clinton. They say his name wasn''t on the Michoigan ballot, that was HIS choice, his decision. The only raason Obama is against those states counting is because he expects them to favor Clinton. If the shoe was on the other foot, boy would you hear him scream.
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