The moment has arrived and all eyes are on Texas and Ohio. Here in Texas, this will be an old-fashioned showdown. At least that is what we are led to believe. Who will be the victor? Either Barack Obama will continue his winning streak, moving him closer to the party’s nomination. Or will it be a new beginning for Hillary Rodham Clinton of becoming America’s first female president.

The fact is, you have to give it to Texas for marching to a different beat. While some states choose their presidential delegates through primary elections, others use a system of caucuses. Here in Lone Star State, we combine those two systems. This is what is now known as the “Texas Two Step.”

Right now, Texas Democrats are being told they have a chance to vote twice in the presidential primary. We may have screwed up on many things in Texas, education and pollution among others, but let me assure you, we have not plumbed to the depths of absurdity when it comes to voting. Maybe a little. Yes, we can now vote early, but no, we don’t vote often.

I just want to clear things up about the “Texas Two Step” because the both campaigns are confusing people to no end. When I voted on Friday, one person was so confused he thought our vote didn’t count because he thought we were participating in a large tracking poll and in order for our vote to count, he had to participate in caucus. No, this is not true. Although the Presidential Primary is dominating the airwaves, however, it is not the only election taking place today.

The “Texas Two Step” is the beginning process to choose the 67 Texas delegates who will attend the party’s national convention in August. After we vote in the Democratic primary, WE have the option of participating in the precinct caucuses, which are held at the election day polling location once the election is over. If the person voted early, it WILL NOT be at that location, they will have to locate the place where you would vote on election day. Since voting ends at 7:00 PM, the caucuses will either begin at 7:15; HOWEVER, caucuses CANNOT begin until the last voter has cast their ballot.

If both camps feel they can stack the deck in favor of their candidate and “take over the precinct conventions,” they better think again. The process is more complex because the Texas Democratic Party has a three-level convention system. The purpose of that convention is to choose delegates as delegates to the appropriate County or Senatorial District convention. Those who attend their County/Senatorial Convention will elect delegates to the State Convention. Those who attend the State Convention will elect delegates to the National Convention.

This is where the fun begins. You see, even if Obama won the statewide primary vote, he can still lose to Clinton. The last time the Texas Democratic Party was the center of attention was in 1988, when Michael Dukakis, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, Richard Gephardt and Gary Hart battled it out. In 1988, Dukakis won the statewide primary vote; however, he ended up having the same number of delegates as Jackson because of the Texas primary and caucus system.

Texas primary and caucus system 101
A total of 126 delegates will be awarded based on the outcome of the vote in each of the 31 state senatorial districts. But the number of delegates available in each district is not equal: Delegates are allocated based on the votes cast in districts in the 2004 and 2006 presidential and gubernatorial elections. The state convention also elects 35 superdelegates and an additional 25 pledged-party and elected-official delegates.

What makes this process confusing; there are an additional 42 at-large delegates that are awarded at the state convention in June. These are the delegated both camps are trying to win over. Based on participation that begins in precinct caucuses on election night and ends in senatorial district caucuses at the state convention, these delegates pledge to support an individual candidate.

Once the caucus is called to order, the chair will announce how many participants support each candidate or remain uncommitted. Now how can a person remain uncommitted if they had just voted? It is possible because a person could choose to vote their conscience by voting for one of the candidates who dropped out. Or you could have voted for either Clinton or Obama and change you mind. Anything is possible.

Example
To determine how many delegates a presidential candidate will get is based on the Texas Democratic Party EZ Math Precinct Delegate Formula. For example, 58 people attended a Precinct Convention, and that precinct is entitled to elect 24 delegates and 24 alternatives to the County/Senatorial Convention. I’ll add a twist to this scenario. The people who are there 25 voted for Hillary Clinton, 18 support for Barack Obama and 15 are for John Edwards. Yes, Edwards and Bill Richardson were on the ballot.

First, you would need to figure out is Edwards camp meet a certain threshold to participate in the process. To do that, you would divide the number of attendants 58 by the number of allotted delegates, 24. Because the answer is 2.41, TDP rules, require you to you round up, therefore, the threshold for to form a caucus is 3.

Next, is to figure out the number of delegates each caucus will get. To do this, you would divide the number of supporters by the number of precinct attendants and then multiple it by the number of allotted delegates.
Clinton Group: 25/58 = 43.10% X 24 = 10.34 Rounded down = 10
Obama Group: 18/58 = 31.03% X 24 = 7.44 Rounded down = 7
Edwards Group: 15/58 = 25.86% X 24 = 6.20 Rounded down = 6

If you were one of those who did vote their conscience, but do not have enough to elect one delegate, you are allowed choice another group, in this case, either the Clinton or Obama camp. The group will then make their nominations to fill all of the delegate and alternate positions.

That is just the first step. Once you are an elected delegate or an alternate for your precinct, you will then attend your County/Senatorial Convention. In large urban counties where there are several Senatorial Districts (like mine, Harris County), you would attend a Senatorial Convention instead of a County Convention.

What is interesting about going to the County/Senatorial/State Convention, a delegate can change their minds if they wish. Like a superdelegate, they can do anything they want. Even though they were elected by rank-and-file members of the party, they have the liberty to change sides if they feel it is for the greater good of the party. From the Texas Democratic Party’s How to Be a Delegate Brochure:

Each delegate will officially sign-in indicating his/her presidential preference or uncommitted status when the delegate picks up his/her credentials.

In other words, the person you elected at the Precinct Convention can have a sudden change of heart and change their support after being elected at the Precinct Convention and you the voter will never know.

This could explain why Hillary is not worried if she doesn’t win Texas. She probably does not even have to worry if Obama won more delegates. Because in the end, it is temporary, they could support one candidate one day and change their minds between now and the next convention. I am pretty sure she would like to win flat out, but she is politically astute and she well aware how Texas politics works. Sure, you will hear the politicians talk about how this system was intended to open up the process to greater public participation and get the voters involved, but that total BS.

Politics is actually controlled by party bosses behind the scenes. Once the process goes past the Precinct level, the system reverts back to the status quo where local party bosses will get to decide who will get the nod

The days of the smoke-filled back rooms is not dead, they are just well hidden within our so-called democratic system. It is just smoke and mirrors. The political system is seized by insiders who will manipulate, coerce, deceive, and control the entire process. As Robert Putnam, author of “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community” and “Better Together: Restoring the American Community,” put it “civic engagement is for suckers.”

I will update when I start getting some results. Hold on folks we are in for a bumpy ride.

8:00 PM
In early returns, Obama was leading with 63 percent to Clinton’s 37 percent in Harris County. Statewide, Obama led with 57 percent to Clinton’s 42 percent.

However, Hillary Clinton received more than 70 percent of the early vote in two big border counties, Hidalgo County and Webb County, according to the Rio Grande Guardian.
In Hidalgo County, Clinton won 36,454 early votes to Obama’s 12,271 votes. In Webb County, Clinton won 21,251 early votes, compared to Obama’s 5,752 votes.

9:00 PM
With 6% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 566,426 47.5%
Barack Obama 607,305 50.9%

In Ohio with 25% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 320,176 58%
Barack Obama 221,250 40%

9:30 PM
With 17% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 660,531 48.5%
Barack Obama 676,005 49.7%

In Ohio with 39% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 489,201 57%
Barack Obama 345,242 41%

10:00 PM
With 25% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 731,235 49.3%
Barack Obama 723,944 48.8%

In Ohio with 53% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 663,922 57% <- Projected Winner
Barack Obama 470,481 41%

10:30 PM
With 48% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 920,672 49.6%
Barack Obama 892,058 48.2%

10:45 PM
With 53% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 1,000,849 50.2%
Barack Obama 953,855 47.9%

11:30 PM
With 66% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 1,119,118 50.2%
Barack Obama 1,066,753 47.9%

Midnight
With 76% of the vote counted
Hillary Clinton 1,219,597 51% <- Projected Winner
Barack Obama 1,138,533 47%

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Tags: Barack Obama, democratic primary, Elections, Hillary Clinton, primary elections, Texas, texas two step |  Print This Post |
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