Billy House and William March/Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON -- Conceding that the idea of a mail-in presidential primary re-vote is all but dead, Florida Democratic leaders are now considering how to divvy up the state's convention delegates to give Floridians a say in the Clinton v. Obama race.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and some state party leaders have proposed seating the delegation based on the Jan. 29 primary, but with each delegate getting half a vote instead of a single vote.
The effect would be to give Hillary Clinton a margin of 19 Florida delegates over Obama, instead of 38.
There are indications, however, that neither campaign is ready to agree to that. A Nelson spokesman said neither Clinton nor Barack Obama immediately agreed when Nelson suggested it to them in a conversation on the Senate floor Thursday. Nelson is a Clinton backer.
But if Democrats in Michigan find a solution to their similar problem, which they were hoping for Friday, pressure could increase to find one for Florida also.
Michigan Democrats Friday were seeking agreement from the campaigns for a new primary election June 3, replacing the results of the vote they held Jan. 15.
The national Democratic Party has said it won't seat delegations from either state at its convention – in effect not counting their primary votes – because they violated party rules against holding primaries before Feb. 5.
The proposed new Michigan election, like a proposed mail-in re-vote in Florida, would choose a new delegation acceptable to the party.
Floridians said the Michigan Democrats had advantages Florida doesn't have in coming up with a solution:
-- In Florida, at least 15 counties are switching from touch screen machines to paper ballots, and might not have voting equipment available.
-- Florida's Jan. 29 vote, with all candidates on the ballot, was considered by some as more fair, so Democrats here are reluctant to throw out the results. In Michigan, Clinton was on the ballot, but most candidates, including Obama, had their names removed.
“They'll (Michigan) be having their first real vote,” said Obama supporter Janee Murphy of Tampa, a member of the Democratic National Committee. “Here, we'd have to throw out a valid election.”
-- Michigan has a Democratic governor and Democratic-led state House of Representatives, who are likely to approve the plan. The Michigan election would be paid for by the party, but run by the state.
Florida State House Speaker Marco Rubio has said the state should not be involved in the effort for a new vote in Florida, which probably means the party would have to run it.
“How would we do it?” said David Goldenberg, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings of Altamonte Springs, a Clinton supporter. He said the Republican-led Legislature “is what got us into this mess in the first place.”
DNC member Mitch Ceasar said having Democrats control state government, as the case in Michigan, “eliminates logistical and technical issues, and you get down to only funding.”
Michigan Democrats plan to raise money to cover their proposed re-do primary, as Florida Democrats would have done with the mail-in vote.
That mail-in option, however, appears to be “maybe not dead, but on life support,” said Ceasar, who has not committed to either Obama or Clinton. State Party Chair Karen Thurman has said she'll announce a decision Monday on whether to proceed.
Josh Rogin, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, an Obama supporter, said Friday that “all the parties will concede that is not an option.”
Efforts for a compromise will instead focus on divvying up the Florida delegation votes.
Nelson's suggestion is to send a full delegation chosen according to the Jan. 29 primary, but with reduced voting power – therefore reducing the delegate margin Clinton won.
But the Obama campaign says publicly that anything other than completely eliminating Clinton's advantage – in other words, splitting the delegates evenly between the two -- is unfair. He contends the Florida primary wasn't fair because the candidates, even though they were on the ballot, didn't campaign here.
“We will look at whatever fair and reasonable remedy that the state party and DNC come up with,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton on Friday.
“A 50-50 split would obviously have some equity to it,” Burton said.
Clinton, on the other hand, says counting both the Florida and Michigan votes is fair, because the candidates' decisions to boycott Florida and stay off the Michigan ballot were voluntary.
DNC member Jon Ausman of Tallahassee, meanwhile, has filed an appeal to the national party, seeking to overturn the delegate ban.
Ausman said the penalty was too severe under party rules. He said the rules aren't clear, but appear to say that eliminating only half the delegation was appropriate.
“They gave Florida the death penalty because they thought they could back the state party off the Jan. 29 primary,” he said, meaning convince the state party to hold a different vote or caucus to choose its delegates. “That was one of the many miscalculations by everyone involved.”
Technically, the campaigns don't have any say on the question, but Florida Democrats said it will be hard to get the national party to agree to a compromise unless the campaigns accept it.
The candidates may feel pressure to agree to solutions in both states, however, because the continued standoff may be alienating voters, cutting the eventual nominee's chances of winning two big swing states in November.
Party activists in both states say they're worried about this possibility. In Florida, at least three polls, one done by the state party last week, have indicated the Democratic nominee could lose votes of independents and even Democrats because of the controversy.
Ausman said according to his contacts with the campaigns, Obama would settle for a penalty that gave Florida 25 percent of its normal voting power – giving Clinton only 25 percent of the 38 delegate margin she won, while Clinton is seeking to have the delegation counted fully.
Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or at bhouse@mediageneral.com. Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761 or wmarch@tampatrib.com.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and some state party leaders have proposed seating the delegation based on the Jan. 29 primary, but with each delegate getting half a vote instead of a single vote.
The effect would be to give Hillary Clinton a margin of 19 Florida delegates over Obama, instead of 38.
There are indications, however, that neither campaign is ready to agree to that. A Nelson spokesman said neither Clinton nor Barack Obama immediately agreed when Nelson suggested it to them in a conversation on the Senate floor Thursday. Nelson is a Clinton backer.
But if Democrats in Michigan find a solution to their similar problem, which they were hoping for Friday, pressure could increase to find one for Florida also.
Michigan Democrats Friday were seeking agreement from the campaigns for a new primary election June 3, replacing the results of the vote they held Jan. 15.
The national Democratic Party has said it won't seat delegations from either state at its convention – in effect not counting their primary votes – because they violated party rules against holding primaries before Feb. 5.
The proposed new Michigan election, like a proposed mail-in re-vote in Florida, would choose a new delegation acceptable to the party.
Floridians said the Michigan Democrats had advantages Florida doesn't have in coming up with a solution:
-- In Florida, at least 15 counties are switching from touch screen machines to paper ballots, and might not have voting equipment available.
-- Florida's Jan. 29 vote, with all candidates on the ballot, was considered by some as more fair, so Democrats here are reluctant to throw out the results. In Michigan, Clinton was on the ballot, but most candidates, including Obama, had their names removed.
“They'll (Michigan) be having their first real vote,” said Obama supporter Janee Murphy of Tampa, a member of the Democratic National Committee. “Here, we'd have to throw out a valid election.”
-- Michigan has a Democratic governor and Democratic-led state House of Representatives, who are likely to approve the plan. The Michigan election would be paid for by the party, but run by the state.
Florida State House Speaker Marco Rubio has said the state should not be involved in the effort for a new vote in Florida, which probably means the party would have to run it.
“How would we do it?” said David Goldenberg, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings of Altamonte Springs, a Clinton supporter. He said the Republican-led Legislature “is what got us into this mess in the first place.”
DNC member Mitch Ceasar said having Democrats control state government, as the case in Michigan, “eliminates logistical and technical issues, and you get down to only funding.”
Michigan Democrats plan to raise money to cover their proposed re-do primary, as Florida Democrats would have done with the mail-in vote.
That mail-in option, however, appears to be “maybe not dead, but on life support,” said Ceasar, who has not committed to either Obama or Clinton. State Party Chair Karen Thurman has said she'll announce a decision Monday on whether to proceed.
Josh Rogin, a spokesman for Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, an Obama supporter, said Friday that “all the parties will concede that is not an option.”
Efforts for a compromise will instead focus on divvying up the Florida delegation votes.
Nelson's suggestion is to send a full delegation chosen according to the Jan. 29 primary, but with reduced voting power – therefore reducing the delegate margin Clinton won.
But the Obama campaign says publicly that anything other than completely eliminating Clinton's advantage – in other words, splitting the delegates evenly between the two -- is unfair. He contends the Florida primary wasn't fair because the candidates, even though they were on the ballot, didn't campaign here.
“We will look at whatever fair and reasonable remedy that the state party and DNC come up with,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton on Friday.
“A 50-50 split would obviously have some equity to it,” Burton said.
Clinton, on the other hand, says counting both the Florida and Michigan votes is fair, because the candidates' decisions to boycott Florida and stay off the Michigan ballot were voluntary.
DNC member Jon Ausman of Tallahassee, meanwhile, has filed an appeal to the national party, seeking to overturn the delegate ban.
Ausman said the penalty was too severe under party rules. He said the rules aren't clear, but appear to say that eliminating only half the delegation was appropriate.
“They gave Florida the death penalty because they thought they could back the state party off the Jan. 29 primary,” he said, meaning convince the state party to hold a different vote or caucus to choose its delegates. “That was one of the many miscalculations by everyone involved.”
Technically, the campaigns don't have any say on the question, but Florida Democrats said it will be hard to get the national party to agree to a compromise unless the campaigns accept it.
The candidates may feel pressure to agree to solutions in both states, however, because the continued standoff may be alienating voters, cutting the eventual nominee's chances of winning two big swing states in November.
Party activists in both states say they're worried about this possibility. In Florida, at least three polls, one done by the state party last week, have indicated the Democratic nominee could lose votes of independents and even Democrats because of the controversy.
Ausman said according to his contacts with the campaigns, Obama would settle for a penalty that gave Florida 25 percent of its normal voting power – giving Clinton only 25 percent of the 38 delegate margin she won, while Clinton is seeking to have the delegation counted fully.
Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or at bhouse@mediageneral.com. Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761 or wmarch@tampatrib.com.