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Seat Half Of Democratic Delegates According To How Florida Voted

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2008

Perhaps Alex Sink, the lone Democrat in Florida's Cabinet, is right. Perhaps everyone should chill out about the ban on Florida delegates from this summer's Democratic National Convention.

Sink, the state's chief financial officer, believes a frontrunner will emerge by the August convention and the matter of seating Florida's delegates will be moot. Given Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's surging popularity and performance in last week's Potomac primaries, she might be right.

Still, it doesn't hurt to have a plan.

And if New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton were to win unexpectedly this week in Wisconsin and Hawaii - and triumph in the delegate-rich states of Ohio and Texas on March 4 - Florida delegates could hold the key to victory for the former first lady.

That is, if Florida's delegates are counted.

The Democratic National Committee banished the state's delegation from the national convention because Florida lawmakers violated party rules and moved up the date of the presidential primary to Jan. 29.

Florida lost all 210 of its delegates, including its superdelegates. Michigan, which similarly advanced its primary date, also lost its 156 delegates.

When the DNC made its move, the candidates made a pledge to voters in the first contest states - Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina - that they would not campaign in Florida or Michigan.

Obama went so far as to remove his name from the Michigan ballot. He could not remove his name from the Florida ballot, however, because state law would have required him to first declare he was no longer a candidate for the presidency.

The lack of campaigning in Florida helped Clinton, who benefited from superior name recognition. All along, Clinton has promised that if she is the presumptive nominee, she will seat the Sunshine State's delegates.

Then Obama started winning big, overtaking Clinton in the delegate count by about 100.

So what to do now?

Clinton wants Florida's votes to count. So does NAACP leader Julian Bond. Otherwise, he argues, minority voters are disenfranchised. But it's more than minority voters.

But should the rules be changed after the game is played?

The party is suggesting that both states hold a different contest, probably a caucus, which would comply with party rules. But that solution would be grossly unfair to those voters who went to the polls on Jan. 29. Sen. Bill Nelson is right: You can't undo an election with a caucus, especially when the national party would only chip in some $850,000 of the estimated $4 million cost.

So what to do?

One compromise talked about would seat the delegates, but divide them equally down the middle, giving 50 percent to Clinton and 50 percent to Obama. But that's the same thing as saying Florida's vote doesn't count.

A better solution, one that could be supported by party rules, would be to sit 50 percent of the delegates, as the Republican Party plans to do. Then, apportion the delegates in proportion to the votes each candidate received. Since Clinton beat Obama in Florida - 50 percent to 33 percent - she would have an advantage of 36 delegates. But that's fair because she was the first choice of voters.

In the end, it might not matter. If the party fails to produce a clear winner, the superdelegates - elected members of Congress and party officials - will decide the nominee.

That's a sure way to deflate the excitement generated in primaries. The DNC must find a realistic compromise for Florida.

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