Florida GOP Won't Release Delegate List

[Judi Lynn]

Published Thursday, August 5, 2004

Florida GOP Won't Release Delegate List

By JILL BARTON
The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH -- The Republican Party of Florida, citing security and privacy concerns, has refused to release a full list of the 112 delegates who will attend the party's convention in New York.

The names of delegates, who formally endorse their party's candidate for the presidency, have historically been made public. Democrats released a full list of their more than 4,300 delegates from around the nation, complete with many of their e-mail addresses and home counties, weeks before their party's convention in Boston. Other state GOPs also have released delegate lists.

But Florida Republican officials said they heard from several delegates who were concerned about their privacy or security. "Our delegates' request for privacy and their well-being and safety are the top priority for the Republican Party of Florida," said spokesman Joseph Agostini.

The party will release the names of a few highlighted delegates, as well as the names of any delegate who contacts the party and expresses an interest in speaking with the media.
(snip/...)

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040805/NEWS/408050369/1007/EASTPOLK

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. I wonder how many members

of CANF are going?

[rooboy]

2. These frightened little cowards are all heading to New York...

to hear their esteemed leader talk about how free and safe they are. How ironic.

[Dover]

3. Now what do you suppose the real reason is for this withholding?

I doubt it has to do with security. I recommend bookmarking this one, because I have a feeling we'll come back to this story.

[snippy]

11. Maybe some of them are just ashamed. n/t

[Racenut20]

4. This is not really news in Florida.

We have been wondering who represents us for a long time.

[tlcandie]

6. LoL RAcenut20!!!

So true that! MaineDem... Florida is the future US!!! BEWARE!

[hughee99]

28. These delegates, though

do not really represent you. They represent the voters in the Repuke primary in Florida. If you voted in the Repuke primary, then I guess they do represent you, though. I think they should release the names, but I don't think this is really a big deal. They're all going to go to NYC and vote for * anyway since he won the Florida primary.

[MaineDem]

5. I believe this is public information

I can't imagine a party not releasing this information.

I don't think they can withhold the names. Probably they don't have to release personal info like email addresses but the names should be public record.

[Dover]

7. If you are rusty on voting procedures here's a refresher

If you are rusty on voting procedures here's a refresher:

The Electors
Electors are appointed by their political parties, in a manner prescribed by their state legislature, which empowers them to cast a vote for the president and vice president of the United States. The number of electors in each state is equal to each state's number of U.S. Senators (2) and members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The total number varies from state to state based on population and is adjusted every ten years, as necessary, based on census results.

State Procedures
On the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in a presidential election year, eligible voters may, through their ballot, select the electors who are committed to cast their electoral votes for the candidate of the voter's choice. * On the Monday following the second Wednesday in December, the electors selected by the majority of the voters of each state gather at their state legislature. At this time, each elector shall cast their electoral vote. The results from each state are then delivered to the President of the U.S. Senate (U.S. Vice President).

Federal Procedures
On January 6, the President of the U.S. Senate will read these results to a joint session of Congress. The presidential candidate who receives an absolute majority (one vote over 50%) of the electoral votes will serve as president of the United States. The vice presidential candidate who receives an absolute majority of the electoral votes will serve as vice president of the United States. On January 20, at noon, the Constitutionally elected president and vice president are sworn into office.

* Of the 50 states, 48 have a winner-take-all policy in the electoral college. This means that if a candidate wins the popular vote in a state, regardless of the margin of victory, that candidate will receive all of the states electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska have a format in which two electors are selected by the statewide popular vote and the remainder by a popular vote within each Congressional district. In addition, some states have adopted laws that require electors to vote for the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote.

[trumad]

8. Didn't they say that they were going to withhold their electoral votes

if Gore was announced the winner after the recount in Florida? The FL GOP's were in the cracks and sewers of FL and do not want to be exposed to light. HENCE thier disdain for Florida's Sunshine Law.

[Judi Lynn]

9. They were planning a move in the Florida House of Representatives

to discharge the old electors and choose a brand new slate if Gore won the Florida popular vote: a buncha electors who would vote for Bush.

I have NEVER heard of anything as sleazy as this move in my entire life.

[Dover]

13. I don't get how that's done. If Gore won the popular vote in Florida

doesn't it then become winner take all, the Dem electors that were elected by that party would get all the electoral votes?

So how can you then choose electors for Bush?

[Judi Lynn]

15. Isn't it wierd?

Here's a fast google grab, I'll leave it now, gotta run. Will look around later for more info. This may jog a few memories for you:

posted Tuesday, December 12, 2000


Florida House approves Bush electors
The Associated Press


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Republican-run Florida House on Tuesday approved 25 electors pledged to George W. Bush, acting hours before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the Texas governor in the disputed election contest.

The vote was 79-41 as Republicans easily muscled their resolution through the House. Two Democrats voted with the Republicans.

Before the court ruled, the Senate — with 25 Republicans and 15 Democrats — scheduled what could be a historic session to consider the Bush electoral slate. Senate President John McKay would not be pinned down on when the chamber would vote.

Senate Rules Committee Chairman Tom Lee emerged from an evening meeting with McKay commenting ``the train is headed'' toward a Senate vote on Wednesday
(snip/...)

http://quest.cjonline.com/stories/121200/gen_1212007348.shtml

[Judi Lynn]

21. Reading this, it will all come back: the rush of rage when we heard

what they were actually going to do in Florida if Gore was found to have won the vote recount:

December 12, 2000


Florida House Set to Pick New Electors

(NY Post) By KENNETH LOVETT and GREGG BIRNBAUM TALLAHASSEE - The Florida House of Representatives - with surprise Democratic help - is expected to take the historic step today of selecting a legislative slate of presidential electors for George W. Bush. House and Senate committees yesterday endorsed the resolution, which names the same electors already certified by state officials and Bush's brother, Gov. Jeb Bush.

The GOP-controlled House is expected to act on the resolution this morning - even as the nation awaits the crucial U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could decide the election.

The Senate could give final approval to the resolution tomorrow, although its Republican majority is more reluctant to move forward if the U.S. Supreme Court ruling puts the election to rest.

But House Speaker Tom Feeney said that even if the U.S. Supreme Court decides in Bush's favor, two remaining lawsuits seeking to throw out thousands of absentee ballots in Martin and Seminole counties offer enough uncertainty to warrant legislative intervention.

"As long as there are controversies and contests still pending, our intention is to proceed," Feeney said.

The difference is that the legislators believe the U.S. Constitution guarantees a slate named by them must be accepted, whereas the slate named by the governor is vulnerable. Democrats charge the move is political - designed to ensure a Bush slate even if the election is awarded to Gore.
(snip/...)

http://www.evote.com/index.asp?Page=/news_section/2000-12/12122000Florida.asp

The word "crooked" just doesn't begin to explain what they were trying to pull off. This was filthy.




Florida Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Ralph Feeney

What the Hell?

Not only was Governor Bush's announcement to piece together a panel met with sharp criticism, but his close friend Tom Feeney, the conservative speaker of the Florida House, inflamed Democrats by saying "What a loser" during Gore's concession speech. The Los Angeles Times (December 15, 2000) reported that Feeney apologized and attempted to downplay his derogatory comment, claiming that it was "just a joke." Nevertheless, several Democratic lawmakers were outraged by Feeney's comments and boycotted the election reform news conference Governor Bush had organized. Conspicuously absent was Tom Rossin, the West Palm Beach Democrat and Senate minority leader. Rossin said, "What Feeney said was not excusable in any way. I didn't want to be seen at the podium with him."

http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/jphuck/Book4Ch.17.html

[Catt03]

23. Don't want to get off topic however;

is the picture with the woman yelling at the flag shirted man from the 2000 election?

I think the Washington Post has been running that picture all morning
stating it is from the Davenport visit of Kerryand Bush.

Sorry...just wanted to check. Thanks

[Judi Lynn]

32. You're right. It's from the time right after the election in 2000

during the recount. You might remember how much potentially really rough stuff seemed just below the surface.

Jesse Jackson went there to protest the votes lost due to the voter purge being conducted in such a lethal way many people WITHOUT prison records were also kept from voting, etc.

You remember that once the Republicans heard he had gone there, they flew a bunch of Republican goons down threatening to take control of the matter if they thought the protestors were getting out of hand......

There were all kinds of muted and not so muted face-offs during that time, and a lot of people waving "Sore-Loserman" signs.

I got it from google images, doing a search for photos from Florida during the recount.

[Dover]

10. I don't recall.

In 2000, Al Gore received 50,992,335 votes nationwide and George W. Bush received 50,455,156 votes. After Bush was awarded the state of Florida, he had a total of 271 electroral votes, which beat Gore's 266 electoral votes.

Today, a candidate must receive 270 of the 538 votes to win the election. In cases where no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the decision is thrown to the House of Representatives by virtue of the 12th Amendment. The House then selects the president by majority vote with each state delegation receiving one vote to cast for the three candidates who received the most electoral votes.
Here are the two elections that were decided by the House of Representatives:

[ZR2]

12. Are the delegates

the same people that make up the electorial college ?

[MaineDem]

14. No

The election of Electors really has nothing to do with delegates to the convention.

[Dover]

16. Similar, but the delegates elect the winner among the party's candidates

While elected officials, party leaders and dignitaries will converge on the Fleet Center, the real power rests with the convention delegates. A Democratic hopeful's many months pressing the flesh on the campaign trail aside, it is these delegates who actually choose the party's nominee.

The system operates much like the Electoral College, in which vote-mandated "Electors" ultimately select the U.S. president every four years. Each Democratic state party is allocated a number of delegates based on a complicated formula that takes into account the state's electoral votes and the strength of support for Democratic presidential candidates in the last three general elections.

Each individual convention delegate casts one vote for a Democratic candidate. The first candidate to receive a majority of the convention floor's votes (2,162 in 2004) becomes the nominee.

"Alternates" will also be on-hand for the convention, ostensibly to replace delegates who do not or cannot show up, as will thousands of Democratic officials, leaders and regular citizens, plus the usual horde of journalists.

Electing delegates, per district
So how can delegates get a spot in Boston? That's where the process gets tricky.

Like the general presidential election, the party primaries and caucuses do not constitute a direct election. In other words, people don't actually vote for a candidate, but they vote for a delegate allied with that candidate.

(Before the primary or caucus, each candidate on a state's ballot submits the names of local Democrats who would serve as their delegates at the national convention, if necessary.)

The actual vote determines the allegiance of "district-level delegates," based on vote tallies in each of the state's U.S. congressional districts. Per guidelines set by the national party, each state splits these delegates evenly, male and female.

In this regard, the Democrats' delegate-dividing formula is more intricate than Republicans.

While the GOP favors "winner-take-all" elections -- compelling all convention delegates tied to a state's vote to support a particular candidate -- Democratic primaries and caucuses are proportional. So multiple Democratic candidates can earn a share of a state and district's delegate pool, based on how they finished in each primary or caucus. ...cont'd

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/primaries/pages/misc/more.html

[MaineDem]

17. I assume it works the same in each state

Here in Maine we elected our Democratic "Electors" at our convention in May at the same time we elected our National Delegates. The delegates in Boston then elected the nominee. The Electors have already been decided.

The National convention had nothing to do with the Electors; that comes in the general election in November.

Maybe we're saying the same thing. This old brain is overtired. :)

[Moderator]

30. Dover

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator

[LiberalFighter]

22. Mistaken connection... It is delegates not electors

Electors are the people elected to cast the votes for Prez and VP om the general election.

The delegates in the story are people elected to attend the National Convention and nominate their candidate.

[flordehinojos]

18. WHAT IN BLAZES ARE THESE REPUBLICANS DELEGATES AFRAID OF?!!!

AMERICA IS SAFER...so says Bush. Hasn't the other Bush heard the news? Hasn't he passed it along to these fiercely fearful Republicans delegates? Yeah! What's the name of the game? What are they up to?
:hippie:

[CO Liberal]

19. Maybe They're Ashamed of Themselves.....

:-)

[flordehinojos]

20. That is a wonderful possibility I had not considered.

Maybe some of them do have a conscience after all!;-)

[Skidmore]

24. Is Katherine Harris a super delegate?

Maybe they want to avert protests. Don't know, but just a hypothesis.

[Gman]

25. My name was published as a DNC delegate

what a bunch of wusses.

[loudsue]

26. Florida Needs to Elect a Democratic Majority in Both Houses if They're

EVER going to clean that State up. The whole place is crawling with mafia....especially the elected State government. What a friggin' mess!!

:kick::kick:

[ronnykmarshall]

27. What a crock

We not only released our delegates names, but I worked on a website for California delegation.

[RememberWellstone]

29. Something to hide.

Like the truth...they always have something to hide.

[artimus]

31. geez...and they call us liberals cowards....

and this story comes out of flordia?hmmm.....

[struggle4progress]

33. Thirty years ago, after Nixon resigned, nobody would admit ...

... supporting him earlier.

But Bush's Florida supporters don't want their names known even before the convention?!!

Huh?

Did their lawyers warn them that it's better to be anonymous, when participating in a criminal conspiracy?

[leesa]

34. Oh, they ARE afraid. pity