Video: Crowded caucus at Carver
Photos: Election day around Waco
Audio: ChelseaHome > The Listening Post > Archives > 2008 > March > 15
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Clinton campaign seeks to postpone March 29 county convention
While the results of the Texas caucus remains unknown, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign wants the state Democratic Party to postpone county conventions scheduled later this month so the eligibility of participants in the March 4 precinct caucuses can be verified.
On Friday, the Clinton campaign sent a letter to the Texas Democratic Party requesting the March 29 county and state Senate district conventions be postponed so that complaints about the precinct conventions can be resolved. The Clinton campaign said it has received more than 2,000 complaints of violations from the precinct conventions attended by an an estimated 1 million caucus-goers.
Ultimately, the Texas Democratic Party will send 67 delegates to the national convention in August based on caucus results. According to unofficial results, Sen. Barack Obama is ahead in the caucus results with 56 percent to Clinton’s 44 percent with 41 percent of precinct conventions reporting.
In the letter, the Clinton campaign asked the state party to explain what procedures will be used to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the precinct caucus results.
“It is a violation of the rights of legitimate participants to have their true vote count distorted by violations of the Party’s Rules,” stated the Clinton campaign in the letter. “It is the Party’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of the precinct convention process by making sure that the Rules were followed and that the final official results of the precinct conventions are accurate and in compliance with the Rules.”
A Texas Democratic Party spokesman said Saturday that the party has not yet had the opportunity to make any decisions on the Clinton campaign’s request, according to an Associated Press article.
The Obama campaign released the following statement in response:
“We don’t think that the record-breaking number of Texans who stood up to be counted on March 4th would appreciate the Clinton campaign’s attempt to disenfranchise them and silence their voices just because the outcome wasn’t politically beneficial to Senator Clinton,” said Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer.
Here’s a list of the complaints about the March 4 caucuses mentioned in the Clinton letter:
- Temporary Chair packets were released by the election judge prior to 7:00 p.m.
- Sign-in sheets were filled out before 7:00 p.m.
- Precincts were consolidated for purposes of holding a convention
- Precinct caucuses began before polls closed for the primary
- Ineligible participants voted or ineligible delegates were elected, including participants who were not registered voters, participants who did not vote in the primary, provisional voters whose votes were counted, and no verification was made of the eligibility of participants or delegates
- Accurate written records of participants, presidential preferences, and elected delegates were not kept
- Participants’ names and presidential preference were entered on sign-in sheets by someone other than the eligible individual participant
- Results were taken from a head count or hand count rather than the written roll
- Delegate votes were not ratified by the precinct convention
- Failure to follow Robert’s Rules of Order at the precinct convention
