| Missouri's presidential primary vote is binding. The delegates will be allocated in proportion to the candidates' percentage of votes in the primary as long as the candidate has reached a threshold of 15%.
If you want to try to get elected as a delegate to the national convention you must participate in all applicable meetings through the state party convention in May. No proxies are allowed. If you are otherwise eligible to participate (that is, you've been elected early in the process) and you don't show up, you are not eligible to stand for election as a delegate at that level.
On February 28, 2008 the first of the mass meetings in the process will take place. It's a convoluted process depending on where you live, so check the plan to see what applies to you.
On March 27, 2008 delegates to the national convention will be selected in the congressional district meetings. Each congressional district is allocated a specific number of delegates and alternates based on previous voting performance in presidential elections. That is, if you live in a predominantly Democratic district your area gets more delegates.
The party also has an affirmative action plan. Half the delegate and alternate positions are allocated to males, half are allocated to females. There are also allocations based on race and orientation. Since it is a very public record, if you run and are elected as a national delegate based on your orientation, everyone who's paying attention, including people who didn't previously know of your orientation, will know.
The state Democratic Committee will meet on April 5, 2008 to elect PLEO (party leader/elected official) delegates in proportion to the presidential candidates' votes in the primary. PLEO delegates can be state wide office holders, large city mayors, and/or other prominent elected officials or party activists.
The state convention will be on May 10, 2008. At large national delegates will be elected there.
I was elected as a national delegate in 2000 at my congressional district meeting. I first had to get elected at my county meeting. I participated in the state convention and, of course, the national convention. In 1996 I was an alternate to the state convention, getting seated as a voting delegate when another individual couldn't attend. I learned about the process by participating in it. In 2004 I was on the state committee - however, I had supported Howard Dean who did not meet the 15% threshold. I caucused with the Edwards meeting (I had a choice - Edwards or Kerry - no other candidates met the threshold) and cast my vote to elect Edwards delegates to the national convention. I am no longer on the state committee so I won't be involved in that part of the process.
I plan on participating in the process as much as I am able (that is, county meeting, congressional district meeting, state convention) but I will not be running for a national delegate slot.
You can view the plan at the Missouri Democratic Party web site:
Missouri Delegate Selection Plan for the 2008 Democratic National Convention [pdf]
The Democratic National Convention will be in Denver, Colorado from August 25-28, 2008. If you want to try and participate as a delegate to the national convention you better start familiarizing yourself with the process and start planning now.
A few words of advice. Half the battle is in just showing up. Depending on a lot of other variables you just might find yourself in the right place at the right time. |
