Florida Democratic Party Decides Not To Hold Revote

This story was written by Megan Taylor, Independent Florida Alligator

"We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn't want to vote again. So we won't," wrote Karen L. Thurman, chairwoman of the FDP, in a memo addressed to Florida Democrats on Monday.

In the memo, Thurman explained the decision and reassured voters that the Democratic National Committee may still find a solution at the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting in April.

FDP spokesman Mark Bubriski was unable to speculate on what the DNC might decide.

DNC rules require primary elections to take place between Feb. 5 and June 10. Florida was stripped of its 210 delegates after its primary election was scheduled for Jan. 29.

More than 2,000 people responded to Thurman's March 12 memo, which asked presidential candidates, party leaders and voters for input on a proposal to hold a party-run "vote-by-mail" election.

Arguments against the revote included concerns about whether the money would be better spent in the general election, whether the DNC might count the Jan. 29 election results and even the "we broke the rules so we shouldn't get to vote" sentiment, according to Bubriski.

He said that the presidential candidates were contacted, but did not commit to a position on the issue.

Thurman wrote that the "vote-by-mail" proposal was the only way the party could comply with DNC rules, since a second state-run election and a party-run primary or caucus had been ruled out.

Although the March 12 memo cited a poll showing that 59 percent of Democrats wanted a revote, the input received by the FDP made it clear that a revote was not the solution voters wanted.

"This doesn't mean that Democrats are giving up on Florida voters," Thurman wrote Monday.
© 2008 Independent Florida Alligator via U-WIRE