A Whole New Meaning To The Phrase "Texas Two Step"
Among the participants? Halle Berry, Sen. Ted Kennedy and Jim Hightower, who will be among those making 400,000 calls to Texas Democratic voters, MoveOn said in a release. "The primary and caucus in Texas could very well be the decisive vote in the nominating process, and our members are fired up to help out" said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.
Berry and her cohorts might not be fired up if they're pressed to explain to exactly what's happening on Tuesday on Texas, however, as the state's electoral system might charitably be called convoluted.
The Washington Post, which notes that the Texas delegate selection plan is 37 pages long (read it here>!), offers a quick overview, noting that "two-thirds of the state's 228 delegates will be chosen based on the vote in each of 31 state Senate districts. The remaining delegates will be chosen based in part on the outcome of caucuses held on election night after the polls close."
That's just the beginning: Districts yield varying amounts of delegates based on the relative number of ballots cast in the 2004 presidential campaign and 2006 gubernatorial election, and the system could yield a situation reminiscent of the 2000 general election in which the winner of the popular vote does not win the most delegates.
As for the caucuses, you can only show up if you voted in the primary, and the Post notes that the lack of precinct chairs has created a situation in which inconsistency between precincts could influence the outcome. And then there's early voting, which began last week and is expected to be a significant factor, and the fact that 32 of the states 228 delegates are actually superdelegates not tied to the popular vote.
Finally, consider this: While Texas may offer the most confusing system we've seen so far this election season, it's far from alone. In Nevada, for example, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the delegate count, and political reporters have been puzzling their way through confusing rules about concepts like viability thresholds as this extended and unprecedented primary season has unfolded.
You might be among those who believe that elections should be simple. As the last few months have reminded us, more often than not they're anything but.