The recent Democratic National Committee meeting featured an excellent workshop on the 2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate Selection process led by Virginia’s own Patrice Taylor. Materials from the workshop are set forth below. I have previously posed the DNC Convention Call, Rules, and Regulations here. I won’t review the basics, but here are some of the highlights of the workshop:
- The process is underway with states required to name their Affirmative Action Committees by March 2, 2015. (Virginia got a slight extension so we can do it by March 9, 2015, after the State Central Committee meeting)
- Remember that gender equal division and affirmative action goals apply to the whole delegation, including the unpledged automatic (so called “super” although we don’t use that term) delegates. So that means the requirements apply to Virginia’s 120 delegates, 8 alternates, 12 standing committee members and three pages.
- The DNC staff is available to help parties figure out and implement affirmative action goals.
- There was some discussion about disability goals and outreach – Virginians are pushing hard on this issue and want to be involved in the creation of a DNC Disability Caucus, outreach for convention delegates, and convention accessibility.
- Instead of allocating alternates to 75% congressional district level and 25% at the state level, up to 100% may be allocated at either level.
- The DNC-RNC primary calendars are in sync – IA, NH, NV and SC go in February, 2016; everyone else starts no earlier than March 1, 2016. It does not appear that there will be any major efforts to cut in line this time. States that do so will lose 50%-100% of their pledged and 100% of their automatic delegates. GOP sanctions were stiffened to reduce delegations to six or nine delegates.
- States can get a 15% delegate bonus for “clustering” their primaries with other states, but only if they go after March 22, 2016 (the materials erroneously say March 29, 2016). Virginia is going March 1, so no bonus for us.
- All relevant state statutes need to be included in the Plans – I am not aware that the General Assembly made any specific relevant changes.
- State Delegate Selection Plans must be offered for a 30-day public comment period before submission to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee by May 4, 2015 (although a 30 day extension may be allowed).
DNC Delegate Selection Workshop (2/2015) (1.7 MiB, 1,356 hits)
