Under DNC rules all delegates even pledged delegates are allowed to change their vote at any time (though if they announced prior to the start of the convention, they could be removed and replaced by the campaign). Under DNC rules, each candidate has absolute approval rights over their delegates and so each real campaign carefully vet their delegates. I know that I was vetted and I helped to vet other Clinton delegates. The other reason for vetting one's delegates is that these delegates represent the campaign.
The vetting process also works in that it gets delegates who are long time members of the party. I remember one delegate complaining that I got to be a delegate after only 16 years of party work and it took her 30+ years. Once you are seated at the convention, then the campaign cannot remove and replace you with an alternative. If nothing else, the Secret Service would have to be notified and they would have to provide new credentials to the replacement delegate. There is a ton of security at the convention
Many sanders delegates were very active in attempting to get Clinton delegates to change their votes. For example I was at a mini-riot at the Texas Delegation breakfast. Every morning you had to pick up new credentials and there was breakfast for all delegates to discuss events and to listen to candidates and other speakers. On the Monday breakfast, I signed the petition to place Clinton on the ballot. Under the rules one needs 300 delegates to sign a petition. The vote for the nomination was on Tuesday. The first round ballot were all recorded on a form that you signed and indicated your vote prior to the breakfast when you picked up your credentials.
I was at the Texas delegation breakfast when a group of sanders delegates marched in and demanded that we condemn Clinton and change our votes to sanders.
sanders spoke to the Texas delegation the next morning and his speech was again solely about himself. There was a mini-riot due to his delegates the prior morning and the only thing that sanders talked about was himself. Finally a group of sanders delegates yelled at my daughter and called her the c-Word because she would not try to get me to change my vote. That tactic was not very effective.
I am fairly sure that no Clinton delegate flipped to sanders. Most if not all of us had signed the election tally form prior to the breakfast. The tactics used by the sanders delegates will not work on hard core democrats who have worked for years inside the party. The more that I was yelled at by sanders delegates, the more determined I became to honor my pledge and to cast my ballot for Clinton.
It is possible to change one's vote at the convention. I can see one or more candidates with delegates cutting deals to get their delegates to support the front runner in they determine that the front runner is electable Again, the campaigns normally vet delegates and so there will be a number of hard core democrats who have worked inside the party for a long time who will want to do what is best for the party.
I really hope that there is not another mini-riot at the next convention.
Again, this could be an interesting convention
Congratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
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