MOUNT VERNON — On Monday, Karen Thurman, the Florida Democratic Party chairwoman, announced that her state had exhausted all possibilities of holding any kind of make-up primary election to assign the state’s 211 delegates. Michigan is also seeking a solution after being stripped of its 156 delegates.
The National Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee stripped Florida and Michigan of their delegates because they moved their primaries to early dates — an act that violated party rules. Candidates for the Democratic nomination for the presidency agreed not to campaign in the two states.
The question now is, what will happen at the Democratic Convention in August? Knox County Democrats have their own opinions on the issue.
Roger Kirkhart of Mount Vernon said he hopes Michigan can find some solution to the problem.
Should Florida and Michigan have "do-over" voting?
| Options | Percentage | Votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes |
| 183 | |||
| No |
| 419 | Total Votes: 602 |
“I would like to see Michigan go through with their primary,” he said.
Now that Florida has given up the possibility of holding another special election, Kirkhart thinks a solution would be for the state to spilt its delegates, with half going to Hillary Clinton and half going to Barack Obama. However, he also agrees with the Democratic Party that the states shouldn’t have violated party rules.
“In my opinion, neither state should have moved up the primaries,” said Kirkhart.
Another aspect of the issue that worries Kirkhart is that tension within the Democratic Party might give the Republican Party ammunition for mudslinging.
“The Republicans can go into [their] convention saying that [the Democrats] disenfranchised their voters,” he said.
Kirkhart hopes a workable solution for the problem will be found before the convention in August.
“I hope they get it settled before they get to the convention floor,” he said.
W. Roger Auker of Fredericktown believes that the delegates of both states should be seated at the party’s convention in August. He said the Michigan primary really wasn’t fair because all of the candidates agreed not to campaign in the state, and Obama and John Edwards didn’t even appear on the ballot.
“I think they both should have it over again,” he said, adding that Florida and Michigan “should be a little more organized.”
Russell Rine of Martinsburg said that in his opinion, the problems with Florida and Michigan don’t reflect badly on the Democratic Party as a whole, but rather on the two states themselves.
“I’m not sure what Florida’s problem is,” said Rine, referring to voting problems that the state has encountered in the past.
He is unsure about how a definitive solution might be worked out in the two states, but, noting that the estimated cost of holding another election in the state would cost around $10 million, suggested that if Michigan does decide to pursue another election, it should be privately funded by the candidates and not with taxpayer money.
“If the candidates wanted to pay for it, it’d be up to them,” said Rine.
He also said he has become disappointed with the current campaign between Clinton and Obama, saying that they aren’t focusing on the issues as much as they should. However, Rine said he will continue to support the Democratic Party through the election.
