Consensus Nears For Mail-In Revote In Florida

AP via Los Angeles Times:

A consensus began to emerge today that the best way to give Florida's Democrats a voice in electing a candidate for president lies with the U.S. Postal Service.

The Democratic National Committee stripped Florida and Michigan of all their convention delegates -- a total of 313 -- for holding their primaries too early, making both contests meaningless. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won both states, but no delegates. Her rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, did not appear on Michigan's ballot.

But the disqualification of Florida and Michigan has created a headache for the Democratic party due to the unexpected closeness of the race between Obama and Clinton. Officials from both states are trying to figure out how best to resolve the issue before the national convention in August.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean said a mail-in primary is "actually a very good process."

"Every voter gets a ballot in the mail," the former Vermont governor said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "It's comprehensive, you get to vote if you're in Iraq or in a nursing home. It's not a bad way to do this."

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Read the whole story: AP via Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Xander]

I wonder how many ballots will "disappear" in the mail? Florida is the last state I'd trust with something like this. Look for Clinton to win it handily thanks to the GOP in charge down there if this is how it's done.

And how is it the state isn't having to pay for this?

[Superbus]

Changing the rules all candidates agreed to which will benefit Hillary Clinton. Guess that means she's the candidate of the powers that be in the DNC.

[AxelDC]

New caucuses/primaries are good for the Democrats. They will force the media in Michigan and Florida to focus on the party and on the candidates. Meanwhile, McCain will be forced out of the spotlight again while the Democrats get more free publicity.

Howard Dean was being shortsighted by claiming he needs the funds for the general election. A real vote in Michigan and Florida is the best advertisement money can buy.

[CaptainVideo]

I predict that the Clintons will agree to this. Then after Hillary loses, or once it becomes clear that she will lose, they will claim that it is unfair.

[Scottiedog]

Sounds like a fair idea to me..........Hillary would NEVER cheat at a mail-in ballot. I don't trust the Clinton Campaign to play by the rules.

C'mon Gov. Dean, pull your head out of your a$$. Everyone signed a pledge that if they moved their primary up, the results wouldn't count. Even Hillary signed up. Now, you want them to re-vote so their votes will count. WHAT LEADERSHIP!!

Besides, ALL of John MCCrazy's supporters live in Florida. With Crist possibly being on the ticket, why are we wasting so much effort into a state that broke the rules in the first place?

Screw Florida (right in the ear)!!!

[grisgris]

Why is it always Florida?

[happycozy]

My only concern about mail-in voting is Florida's recent history of voter suppression for black voters. I can totally see thousands of ballots from predominantly black districts getting lost in the mail. How will election officials protect against such incidents?

[Mort]

We hate Republicans for not letting every vote count. Then we disqualify voters, change the rules midstream and ultimately ignore them altogether and let the "supers" decide for us. We don't represent Americans any more that Republicans do, but it sounds better this way!

Irrespectfully, the DNC

[justwaitandsee]

Don't do it....We need the voters to come out and vote....We need to make sure there is no cheating going on..

[MidwestMomma]

Sounds good to me as long as they are pre-addressed and postage paid for returning.

[plages]

Maybe some one from Spain, or Pakistan can over see this election, you know, just like our senators did in Pakistan!

[SShaw490]

A bad way to do it? It's a ridiculous way to do it, and it's a clear attempt on the part of the Democratic party to push the election toward Clinton. Clinton's name recognition means she gets all votes from voters who really don't care either way - people who are so uninterested that they won't even show up at the polls. People who literally don't care enough to drive a few blocks and stand in line for 30 minutes to vote. Oh, they'll mark a ballot and put it back in the mailbox - "Well, it's Hillary Clinton or this other guy I don't know..." There's only one way to do it - you have to do it with the method that would have existed if there had been no previous election. The Democrats basically have proven they can't competently run anything, they're caving in to pressure from Clinton, they'll change the rules in the middle of the game, and give her what she wants. Just like on the war in Iraq, they have to cave in. Just like the Democratic party always does, they can't make a decision and stick with it.

If they re-do Florida and Michigan like that, Barack Obama should absolutely declare his intention to run independently. He can beat both McCain and Hillary in a general election, he has his own money (none of it from lobbyists, either) and frankly, his campaign theme would be absolutely consistent with an independent run. He wants to bring a new kind of politics - well, he's done his best to work within the existing structure and it's impossible, so he has to take on the whole rigged, bought-and-paid-for system and take the decision to the people. He's leading the delegate race but the Democratic party is obsessed with making sure he doesn't win the nomination. Fine. Let them nominate Hillary, and in the general election, the exact same people who voted for her in the primaries will vote for her in the election. She'll get about 15 million votes - she'll be lucky to win a single state.

The Dems want Hillary? Let her bring it. Obama has game. Obama should say, "I'll see you in November."

[Oldtt]

This would be like absentee balloting writ large, and seems like a reasonable solution based on financing issues with restaging a traditional primary. I would think there is some current mechanism for avoiding duplicate absentee ballots which could be used, perhaps by assigning a unique ballot ID number to each mailed-out ballot which is scannable along with candidate selections. The ballot forms should be designed to discourage duplication. Probably the fairest way to decide who gets on the ballot would be to list the same candidates again who were running in the original primary, but with some note of current status included in the packet sent out. Aren't there some states who use all-absentee balloting? Maybe they might serve as a time tested model.

[Pjsandiego]

Does anyone have a clue what this is going to do if Hillary ends up pulling this out because of
a rule change in the middle of the contest?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU HOWARD DEAN?

And Obama can't do anything to stop it or he risks pissing off the incredible assholes in the State of Florida who can only think about fucking Castro and getting good hurricane insurance.

What a bunch of idiots. Florida has been the bane of the Democratic party for too long.
Frankly it's more like a latin american country than an American country.

Doesn't anyone have any thought that this is a really really really bad idea?

[bbbbmer]

interesting selection of pics, there ... obama's facing the inspirational clouds, howard dean's looking pointed and aggressive, ....and for hillary.... you didn't miss a wrinkle with what looks like fluorescent lighting.... one might think you're trying to paint her in a 'bad light'.....