Illinois Presidential Delegates
February 29, 2016 2:56 PM Subscribe
Can someone explain the Illinois Presidential delegate selection process in very simple language?
Let's say I pull a Democratic ballot. In my county, the ballot contains choices for the major (and minor) Presidential contenders under "Federal: For President of the United States." But further down I'm also presented with a list of delegates for my congressional district, from which I can choose a maximum of five (National Delegate CDXX: For Delegate to the National Nominating Convention Xth District).
There are six delegates listed for Clinton and six for Sanders (and two for O'Malley). How do I decide which five of the six to vote for? Does it matter which five of the six are elected? Are all six committed to vote for the candidate listed by their name, or do I have to research each delegate candidate to see how committed they are? And why, if I'm already voting my preference for "Federal: For President of the United States" do I have to also choose the electors as well? It seems like I could vote for one person as President but choose electors for a different candidate. Does that make any sense?
I've tried to read this. Please don't send me back there again; my brain hurts.
Let's say I pull a Democratic ballot. In my county, the ballot contains choices for the major (and minor) Presidential contenders under "Federal: For President of the United States." But further down I'm also presented with a list of delegates for my congressional district, from which I can choose a maximum of five (National Delegate CDXX: For Delegate to the National Nominating Convention Xth District).
There are six delegates listed for Clinton and six for Sanders (and two for O'Malley). How do I decide which five of the six to vote for? Does it matter which five of the six are elected? Are all six committed to vote for the candidate listed by their name, or do I have to research each delegate candidate to see how committed they are? And why, if I'm already voting my preference for "Federal: For President of the United States" do I have to also choose the electors as well? It seems like I could vote for one person as President but choose electors for a different candidate. Does that make any sense?
I've tried to read this. Please don't send me back there again; my brain hurts.
I was just looking into this for the Alabama Dem primary. Short answer (for here, anyway): vote for the candidate, and feel free to skip the delegate section unless you happen to know somebody on the slate and want to show support.
Also, with the odds of a brokered GOP convention so high this year, I'm surprised the actual process of selecting and electing convention delegates is so anonymous. If the remaining candidates continue to split the vote and no one reaches the threshold on first ballot, these people will hold the nomination in their hands!
posted by Rhaomi at 11:53 PM on February 29, 2016
Also, with the odds of a brokered GOP convention so high this year, I'm surprised the actual process of selecting and electing convention delegates is so anonymous. If the remaining candidates continue to split the vote and no one reaches the threshold on first ballot, these people will hold the nomination in their hands!
posted by Rhaomi at 11:53 PM on February 29, 2016
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You can absolutely do that and a lot of people did in 2008, voting for one candidate while symbolically choosing the other candidate's delegates, since both Clinton and Obama were Illinoisians. (But your vote for the candidate is what "counts.")
In the GOP primary, the presidential vote is just a "beauty contest" and the delegate votes are what matter. On the Democratic side, the vote for president is binding on the delegates (in proportion to their share of the vote); when you vote for delegates, you are literally just choosing which specific people will get to go to the nominating convention. So if your district gets to send 8 delegates and Hillary and Bernie split your district, the top four vote-getting delegates for each candidate will be sent to the nominating convention. (Actually it's slightly more complicated than that -- the party is committed to sending an equal number of men and women so at a certain point on the list one gender may be disqualified to make sure that equalizes.)
If Martin O'Malley were to win the state in a surprise sweep, the rest of his delegates (to make up for all the gaps on the ballot for him) would be appointed at a special party meeting. (Some of them might be the same people who were going to serve as Bernie or Hillary delegates; delegate candidates are often big party operatives who live and breathe local party stuff and "top up" delegates usually come from that same pool. They will vote for O'Malley because they are pledged to O'Malley.)
Most people vote for president and then pick the first X delegates listed for their preferred candidate. (I think the spares are on there to make gender-equalizing easier and/or to prevent problems if someone drops out, but I'm not positive.) Not too many people know anything about the delegates. In a brokered convention I believe delegates are free to vote their personal preferences, rather than their pledge, after the first round, so it could THEORETICALLY matter, but that's pretty unlikely.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:28 PM on February 29, 2016 [8 favorites]