Comments on: The Edwards Factor: Absentee Votes That Won’t Count

By: Jillmz

Jillmz — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:01:10 +0000

Thanks, 4ed – I'm actually in Ohio but your links are great -thank you and good luck to your candidate – I just saw that he has at least 5% in Georgia at the moment!

By: 4edwords08

4edwords08 — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:48:56 +0000

Hi Jill,
Yes, is the answer to your question, his votes go to his column and so does the delegate.
10 of Edwards delegates were already awarded to Obama and Clinton based on the proportional voting in the early states. But the others remain his. It is dependent on the percentage of the votes cast compared to the proportion for each candidate. Each state seems to be a tiny bit different in the rules but there are general rules set up by the DNC.
A visit and some time to dnc.org will give the general rules and a trip to www.johnedwards.com can help find information on the awarding of delegates particular to his status. I have an article up called Clarification on the California Primary by Abigail Marshall.
Observation of the process is key to make sure that the vote you cast was awarded properly. Thank you for the opportunity.
I think that the Absentee Ballot need s a re-look but that is my opinion and based on the experience that I had.
A visit to your local Registrars office to see about being an observer really is eye opening. Anyone can do it.
By the way you can still fill out an application to be a delegate in California. You have till April to apply: www. cadem.org

By: Jillmz

Jillmz — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:55:28 +0000

Wow – thank you for this comment, 4ed. So – just to be clear, since he only suspended the campaign and didn't “end” it, that means that any delegates he would get by virtue of the number of ballots cast for him, will still go in his column and NOT go uncounted or to another candidate? That is fascinating. Sorry I'm very naive in this, but is there a good place to go to read about how the process for him would work at this point? You seem like you know.

And thanks for doing this civic duty. You doing it, I am sure, makes others want to also.

By: 4edwords08

4edwords08 — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:45:19 +0000

Hi Jill, I was never so disconcerted in my life than in 2006 when I helped recount ballots for a contested race in Southern Calif. I saw literaly thousands upon thousands of absentee ballots that never did get counted. I want to be an observer tonight for John Edwards, so that suspended campaign or not he has earned the votes to obtain his delegates. By the way he has not dropped out, he suspended his campaign for the present. As one of his supporters/volunteers we placed ads on his behalf and launched a huge get out the vote for Edwards by email and phone banking. The message needed to get out so that the public will know that they can still vote for him in present time and that their vote will be counted and therefore Edwards will have a say so about where the Democratic Party goes and the status of what our platform should encompass.

By: Jillmz

Jillmz — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:41:56 +0000

Interesting article, thank you. I don't know what happens to the vote – because what happens if there is no endorsement? Maybe caucuses have an advantage over primaries in this sense?

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:10:45 +0000

Funny thing, I just ran across this article in today's Chicago Sun-Times about early/absentee voting:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/brown/776716,CST-N...

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:26:45 +0000

I would think this would be an issue in any election since the advent of the absentee ballot, not just this one. I'm not completely sure about this, but don't the delegates that would be for candidates that have dropped out end up going to who that candidate ends up endorsing? Isn't that the point of a dropping candidate providing an endorsement? If that candidate doesn't endorse anyone, then I think it's up to the delegate to make their own choice. If this is the case, it's not that a person's vote for a dropped candidate doesn't count at all, but perhaps not in the way they had first anticipated.

By: John Edwards » Blog Archive » The Edwards Factor: Absentee Votes That Won’t Count

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:49:57 +0000

[...] IBEW 124 wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptHas anyone speculated on how many of the millions of absentee ballots that have been cast across the Super Tuesday states were cast for John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson or Dennis Kucinich, all of whom have withdrawn from their … [...]

By: Jillmz

Jillmz — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:48:38 +0000

So SuperD – do you lean toward leaving the absentee system alone, in general, and tough nuggies to those who voted in advance for someone who is now out of the race?

By: superdestroyer

superdestroyer — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:38:36 +0000

Leave it to New Jersey to be able to ignore the voting rights act. I thought you could not change the rules of an election afterwards. Also, how will they know which ballot to eliminate.

It seems open to fraud but since NJ is a deep blue state, I guess it will be tolerated. Image the outcry if they tried this in Flordia.

By: Jillmz

Jillmz — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:34:53 +0000

Yes – I've read about that suggestion – do you think it would work – would it really help eliminate absentee voting, though, as a recommended tool to calm anxiety about systems that fail?

What about Maine's weekend caucusing?

By: lurxst

lurxst — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:23:09 +0000

How about a nationwide primary day?