Further complicating Texas' convention process (today): Delegates can switch sides

[babylonsister]

Further complicating Texas' convention process: Delegates can switch sides
By ANNA M. TINSLEY
Star-Telegram Staff Writer


The power of persuasion could be important Saturday and beyond for Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

That's because, as Texans move through the second of the state's three-tiered caucus process, delegates promised to candidates can always flip to the other side.

"There's no such thing as a pledged delegate," said Allan Saxe, an associate professor in political science at the University of Texas at Arlington. "They can change their mind at any time.

"Who knows, by the time they reach the state convention, more information could come out on either candidate and people may indeed want to change," he said. "Once again, every delegate counts."

On Saturday, tens of thousands of Texans who became Democratic presidential delegates March 4 will head to senatorial district conventions, where they will support their choice for president again and try to move on to the state convention to keep rooting for their pick.

more...

http://www.star-telegram.com/elections/story/550012.html

[mac2]

1. And they can be bought off which is a worry if this is to

be a democratic process.

[LakeSamish706]

2. What a convoluted mess Texas Primaries are.... This system needs to be...

seriously overhauled once these Primaries/Caucuses are over with.

[shraby]

3. How long do they expect this process to take?

[babylonsister]

5. Results from the county conventions are expected today. Here's more...

http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5455

Burnt Orange Report to Report County Convention Results
by: Burnt Orange Report
Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 03:00 PM CDT

Dear Readers,

We are pleased to announce that we at Burnt Orange Report will be reporting the results of this weekend’s county and senate district conventions. We will be partnering with the campaigns of both Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama – with the support of the Texas Democratic Party and countless county and local party leaders – to provide you the most accurate, up-to-date vote totals of this weekend’s extraordinary process.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for our community to demonstrate the virtue and value of a people-powered movement.

Here’s how it will work:

1. On Saturday, March 29, thousands upon thousands of Texas Democrats will attend their county conventions across the state. As those conventions wrap-up their delegate selection process, individuals from the convention will submit the delegate-totals through a number of methods (read below). We are anticipating representatives from each campaign, as well as County Chairs, to submit totals.

2. We have built a delegate tracking database. We will keep a running tally of each county convention with the number of Clinton and Obama delegates elected to the state convention in June. Based upon the county results, we will project the estimated number of national delegates earned by each campaign.

3.As soon as we can verify information, we will report the results. All we ask is your patience – many larger conventions are expected to run late into Saturday evening. Even if it takes until Sunday or Monday, our top priority is that any results reported are accurate.

How to Submit the Results of Your County Convention

There are three ways you can submit the results of your county convention:

1. An online submission form - Click here to submit results online.

2. E-mail – Individuals with accurate figures may send the results to [e-mail].

3. Phone – If you do not have internet access, or would rather talk to a real human being, Burnt Orange Report writers David Mauro and Phillip Martin have agreed to receive call-in results. If you do choose to call-in the results, please leave a brief phone message stating who you are, your role at the convention (County Chair, Secretary, Obama/Clinton supporter, etc.) and the total number of delegates for each candidate.

* David Mauro – 512-587-9304; [e-mail]
* Phillip Martin – 512-496-8142; [e-mail]

Please help us spread the work about our efforts this weekend, and enjoy the convention process. Support your candidate, learn about the process, and remember that – above all else – it’s a proud day to be a Democrat!

Sincerely,

The Staff of Burnt Orange Report

[shraby]

7. Thanks a bunch.

[Clear Blue Sky]

4. Great system we have.

Plenty of chaos already without even needing Limblow's "operation chaos"...

[Gman]

6. There's nothing complicating about this

delegates can change their preference all the way up too and including the state convention. This is nothing new whatsoever. Personally, I think it's a great way to do it. There are no "pledged" delegates from Texas until you get to the national convention. And, even there, nothing compels the delegate from signing in for another candidate.