Here’s a blog round-up for the California Democratic Party Convention.  We’ll post another one tomorrow.

From Steve Sloan, SJSU Tech on a Mission: Friday Night at the Convention

From the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Blog: California State Democratic Convention in San Jose – Day 1

From MOMocrats: Gavin Newsom Reads MOMocrats

From MOMocrats: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a SUPER Delegate!

From MOMocrats: MOMocrats at the California Democratic Convention: Waiting for Nancy Pelosi

Here’s a couple of the MOMocrats along with one of the KIDocrats.

More pix at Flickr from Kethryvis and Steve Sloan.

From MOMocrats: Nancy Pelosi Rocks the House!

From Calitics: Immigration Townhall

From Calitics: Jerry Brown: Elegant Density

From Calitics: Day 1 Thoughts

From Calitics: What a difference a year makes

From Calitics: Art Torres wants Michigan and Florida Seated

From Calitics: Leno, Nation, Migden and a sign

From Calitics: CDP 2008 Photos

From Calitics: Event Listing for CDP Convention

From Calitics: Opening the convention

From Calitics: Platform happenings

From Calitics: Day 1 Recap: Bob Mulholland & A whole lotta hollering

From Calitics: 2008 CDP Platform (Draft)

From Calitics: Hanging in the bar

From the Liberal OC: ALERT to Young Democrats Attending the CDP Convention This Weekend!

From California Progress Report: Growth of the Party: For Many California Young Democrats This Will Be First Convention

From The Politics of Kethryvis: CDP Convention 2008 Day One

From The Politics of Kethryvis: Day One: It’s Too Darn Hot

From Confessions of a Girlhood Among CyberGhosts: Just a reminder…

From Sweet Melissa: You Say Kamala, I Say Melissa

From Sweet Melissa: Live From The Donkey Show: OMG!

From ImTedGreen: Do You Know the Way?

From California Progress Report: California Democrats Making History – California Progress Report

From California Progress Report: Convention Diary: California Democrats Convening in the Silicon Valley Today Through Sunday

From the California Majority Report: DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION: Planned Parenthood Warns of New Parental Consent Abortion Proposition

From the California Majority Report: DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION: Two Mothers of Victims of California’s Three Strikes Law Offer Hope for Reform

From the California Majority Report: DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION: CDP Chair Art Torres Talks Convention(s), Superdelegates, and Wine

From the California Majority Report: DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION: Steve Westly Hypes New Media at Internet and Computer Caucus Meeting

From Patricia For Campbell: Lights Out?

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

Some folks with eagle eyes have noticed that the AP put out a story stating that the final pledged delegate count in California stands at 204 for Clinton and 166 for Obama.

Also Saturday, California’s Democratic Party finalized the delegate counts from its Feb. 5 primary. Clinton picked up two more pledged delegates, raising her state total to 204; Obama gained five, raising his figure to 166.

Well, the AP made a mistake — but it’s not in the numbers.  The California Democratic Party did not finalize the delegate counts.  The California Secretary of State finalized the election results.  Maybe it’s semantics, but I think it’s an important notation to make.

However, that number is correct.

Last week, David made his calculations and wrote about them based on the March 4 accounting published by the Secretary of State’s office.  Final certification, however, did not take place until March 8, and the final results are scheduled to be announced on Monday, March 17.  But the official Statement of Vote has been posted on the Secretary of State’s website, and the numbers have changed since the March 4 report. Every other district’s delegate count will remain the same as that calculated by David, but in CA-51 (Bob Filner’s district) the change in the final numbers was enough to prompt a delegate shift.

The March 4 numbers showed Clinton with 40,372 votes (59.2%) and Obama with 24,867 votes (36.5%) in CA-51.

But after March 4, even more votes were counted. The final Statement of Vote published by the SoS shows Clinton with 45,598 (60.2%) and Obama with 26,912 (35.6%). That change was enough to take the district from a 2-2 split to a 3-1 split.

And that took the total number of pledged delegates from David’s calculation of 203-167 to the 204-166 reported by the AP.

On a completely different topic…

While we’re discussing delegates, there’s another issue that needs to be addressed.  Before the primary election even occurred, the CDP devised a District Delegate allocation plan to ensure that there was gender balance between the District Delegates who will attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.  

The method the CDP used was simple. They put the District Delegate slots onto a spreadsheet, Numbers 1 through 241, and assigned the gender on an even-odd basis, e.g., male, female, male, female, etc., all the way from 1 to 241. Then they started at the top of the spreadsheet and entered the delegates for the Congressional Districts in numerical order, CD-01 through CD-53.

So now (and remember, this is pre-February 5) the spreadsheet looked like this:

… all the way on through Delegate 241, Female, CD-53.

So now that the election is over and the results have been certified, the District Delegates assigned to Clinton and Obama will be dropped into the slots in their Congressional Districts. The winning candidate in each CD is entered first.  

So, for instance, in CD-01, Obama received 47.2% of the vote to Clinton’s 44.9% — he will receive three delegates to her two.  So Delegates 1-3 are assigned to Obama; Delegates 4 and 5 are assigned to Clinton. That means that in CD-01’s April 13 delegate caucus, Obama supporters will vote for Delegates 1, 2 and 3, two females and one male; Clinton supporters will choose Delegates 4 and 5, one male and one female.

In CD-02, where Clinton received 46.5% of the vote and Obama received 41.9%, each will receive two delegates.  Clinton’s supporters will choose Delegates 6 and 7, one male and one female, and Obama’s supporters will select Delegates 8 and 9, also one male and one female. I think you probably catch the drift.

However, there’s a rub.  There’s always a rub.

Now that the vote has taken place and the District Delegates have been apportioned, it turns out that there are 13 Congressional Districts where a candidate only received one delegate. And in all 13 of those Congressional Districts, the candidate with just one delegate is Obama. What that means is that the District Delegates elected by the Obama caucuses in these 13 Congressional Districts are going to be restricted on the basis of gender.

Here’s how it will break down:

Only one person of the gender listed above will be elected at those April 13 District Delegate caucus. So, for instance, a woman cannot be elected as a District Delegate in CD-18; a man cannot be elected in CD-47.

And here’s the deal. We know that there are people who really worked their hearts out for Obama and that some people will feel disenfranchised by the system that’s been put into place. That’s why we wanted to explain this early and as fully as possible. Trust me, we feel their pain. And we sincerely hope that once folks have gotten over their initial disappointment, they don’t let this deter them from jumping in and working hard in future Democratic campaigns.

In the meantime, people can always apply to be At-Large Delegates using the Form B application. The deadline to apply to be an At-Large Delegate is April 23, at 5:00 p.m.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

(Thanks CDP. – promoted by Bob Brigham)

With nine regions of the California Democratic Party having held pre-endorsement meetings last night and the other twelve regions scheduled to hold theirs on Saturday, I thought it might be helpful to offer my best/simplest explanation as to how the CDP endorsement process works. Frankly, it’s not all that simple, so hold onto your hat.

Before I get started, just to be very clear, when I talk about DSCC (Democratic State Central Committee) members, here’s what I’m talking about. There are approximately 2800 DSCC members statewide, and they come from each of the following groups in about 1/3 proportions:

• Each central committee elects DSCC members from its membership (four per central committee as a base, and then an additional one for every 10,000 Democrats in the county)
• There are twelve AD delegates from each and every one of 80 Assembly Districts, elected in January of every odd-numbered year, who become DSCC members
• Finally, all Democratic electeds and nominees are members and additionally appoint 2-6 DSCC members apiece.

Taken together, these are the people who vote and conduct CDP business at the State Convention.

Now for the endorsement process.

Endorsements for partisan offices will take place at the State Convention in San Jose, March 28-30.  This year, that will be all ADs, ½ of the SDs (odd-numbered districts), and all CDs.  Before that, though, on either March 13 or March 15, depending on where you live, there are pre-endorsement conferences.

Here’s how it works. Voters in the pre-endorsement conference are comprised of any DSCC members, central committee members who are not DSCC members, and designated representatives of chartered clubs and organizations who live within the district being considered. The number of designated representatives allotted to each club is determined by applying a formula to the number of members of each club.  

All of these folks will meet at their pre-endorsement conference (they can Vote By Mail, though not by proxy, especially as there may be time conflicts between the AD, SD or CD conferences). Candidates who are seeking a CDP endorsement must have registered with the CDP and have paid a $50 registration fee which may be paid at any time up to the conference for their race.

At the pre-endorsement conference, each candidate will be allowed to make a two-minute speech. Then a roll-call vote will take place, with the convener reading out VBM ballots.  Only one vote will take place. At the end of voting, the votes for each candidate and for “no endorsement” will be tallied.

If a candidate receives 70% of the total votes cast, s/he will be recommended for endorsement and his or her name will be put onto the consent calendar to be ratified at the General Session of the State Convention on Sunday, March 30.

If no candidate reaches the 70% benchmark, the conference will have taken the position of “no recommendation” for endorsement.

If one candidate receives over 50% but less than 70%, that race will be considered at an endorsing caucus to be held at the State Convention from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 29.

If no candidate reaches the 50% level at the pre-endorsement conference, then there will be no caucus at the State Convention, and there will be NO ENDORSEMENT in that race.

Now, if a candidate receives 70% of the votes at the pre-endorsement conference and is placed onto the consent calendar, that candidate’s name CAN BE REMOVED from the consent calendar and an endorsing caucus required IF 20% of the DSCC members from the district or 300 DSCC members at large challenge the candidate’s placement on the consent calendar by filing a letter of objection with the State Chair no later than ten days before the start of the State Convention (this year that date is March 18).

Once the process gets to the endorsement caucuses at the State Convention, the number of participating voters shrinks, with ONLY DSCC delegates from within the district (or their qualified proxies) allowed to vote in the caucuses.

So on Saturday, March 29, from 4:30-6:00 p.m., endorsement caucuses will be held for the following races:

• Races where no candidate received 70% of the pre-endorsement conference vote but one candidate received over 50%
• Races in which no quorum was present at the pre-endorsement conference
• Races in which a candidate received 70% of the pre-endorsement conference vote but a proper challenge was filed.

Because no VBM is allowed at the convention, caucuses will be held simultaneously in like districts, e.g., all ADs, then all SDs, then all CDs. A tentative agenda will be posted at the Convention and DSCC members will receive instructions in their registration packet indicating the location of their endorsing caucuses (if any).

At the endorsing caucus, the numbers required for endorsement change: Non-incumbent candidates will need 60% of the vote and incumbents will need a simple majority to secure the caucus recommendation for endorsement. Only one vote per district will be taken. A candidate who reaches the required threshold will receive the caucus recommendation for CDP endorsement.

At this point, there is a mechanism for challenging the endorsing caucus’s recommendation. After the endorsing caucus makes its recommendation, a formal objection may be filed.  It must be signed by at least 300 credentialed members of the DSCC on a form which will be available at the end of the endorsing caucuses and must be filed with the State Chair no later than 11:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. If a formal objection is filed, each candidate is entitled to designate one observer who may be present during the verification process.

Finally, those candidates who have been recommended for endorsement at either the pre-endorsement conferences before the convention or by the endorsing caucuses at the convention will go onto the consent calendar to be ratified by the convention body in the General Session on Sunday, March 30. Even candidates that received 70% at the pre-endorsement conference and did not have their race challenged are not endorsed until the vote on the consent calendar takes place on March 30.

As a disclaimer, the information I’m providing is my best understanding of the process.  The CDP Bylaws, of course, supersede any representation that I’ve made here.

If you have any questions about how the whole process works, I’ll be happy to try to answer them.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

Ventura County Democrats deserve a huge shout-out from all of us. On Monday, their Registrar of Voters announced that the number of registered Democrats has surpassed the number of registered Republicans, turning Ventura County blue. Here’s the announcement from the Ventura County Democrats website:

The Republicans have held the advantage for over 20 years in the county. Just 4 years ago, that advantage was a daunting 16,000. Today Dems took the lead, with 439 more registered Democrats than Reps.

The numbers are as follows:

• Dem: 150,066
• Rep: 149, 627
• DTS: 69,987

We’ve got a great team in the local Dem Party and more are joining us to get involved in this exciting Presidential election year. Congrats to all involved who made this happen!

Hmm. Do you think it’s a coincidence that the very next day after this announcement was made, Tom McClintock fled his home in Ventura County, making the 418 mile trip up to CA-04 in search of a red district?  

We’ve been writing for the last couple of weeks about the important role that Democratic County Central Committees play throughout the State of California.  The stunning gains being made in Democratic registration are just one example of their great work.  But you know what? These Central Committees are only as strong as their members.

Up in Tom McClintock’s new home, CA-04, there are nine counties (count them — Butte, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento and Sierra). Their Democratic County Central Committees are also working hard to register Democrats and support Democratic candidates like Charlie Brown — and we hope that they’re successful in chasing Tom McClintock out of CA-04, as well.

But each one of those Democratic County Central Committees needs the help of committed, hard-working Democrats in their communities. Several of these County Central Committees in CA-04 don’t even have enough candidates running for office to make it onto the ballot.

Even the mighty Ventura County Central Committee needs your help. According to their website, four out of five districts in Ventura County still have vacant slots; overall, just two days away from the end of the filing period, they are six candidates short of having a complete Central Committee.

Time is running out. The deadline for filing to become a candidate is this Friday, March 7, at 5:00 p.m. But it’s not too late to get started. Just head on over to the CDP website to get all the information on how you can file before Friday to run for your Democratic County Central Committee.

Who knows — if we all work hard enough at organizing, maybe Tom McClintock will be left with nowhere to run!

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

Cross posted on Daily Kos

Last week we wrote a diary encouraging Democrats throughout the State of California to roll up their sleeves, get involved, and run for a seat on their local Democratic County Central Committees.

Since that time, a group of East Bay grassroots activists (a few of whom are Caliticians!) has put together a video talking about what motivates them to work through their local Democratic Party and why they think YOU should run for your Democratic County Central Committee.

Time is running short, though. The filing deadline to run for your County Central Committee is next Friday, March 7 at 5:00 p.m.  To beat that deadline, you’ll need to go to your County Registrar of Voters, register as a candidate and get copies of petitions.  Then you’ll need to gather 20 valid signatures from registered Democrats in your district.  You MUST turn in your signed petitions by March 7.

For a complete guide to the process, please go to our website at www.cadem.org/countypartyfaq.

In this critically important election year of 2008, there’s no better way to get involved with other committed and hard-working Democrats throughout your community and across the state.  

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

(While in some big city counties, these races are intense and expensive, there are a LOT of other counties where just a little work can make a big difference – promoted by jsw)

Many of you probably remember when Gov. Howard Dean issued his now-famous citizens’ report card:

• If you vote you get a “D”
• If you donate money to your candidate you get a “C”
• If you do all of that and volunteer you get a “B”
• But if you do all that and run for office, then and only then do you get an “A.”

Well, we’d like to start out by saying that our hat is off to all Democrats running for office, like Gary Pritchard for his “A” performance in California’s SD-33.  

But Gary doesn’t have to be the only Calitician to earn an “A” this year. We are in the midst of another electoral race, one that not very many people know about, but one which is of utmost importance to California Democrats.  

Now is the time for everyday Democrats across the State of California to make the decision to run for their County Central Committees; the filing deadline is March 7. Sadly, we know the most common response to the previous sentence is likely to be, “Huh.”

So what, exactly, are Democratic County Central Committees? What do they do, and why is it important for you to run for a position on one of them? Well, the CDP has compiled a handy FAQ page to answer those questions.  

More on the flip.

Long story short, Democratic County Central Committees are the local organizing arms of the Democratic Party. From the FAQ:

What is a Democratic County Central Committee?

The County Central Committees encourage the growth and success of the Democratic Party within their county by coordinating and promoting Party activities. Additionally, they also recruit and work for the election of Democratic Party candidates throughout their county. Many County Central Committees open campaign headquarters; in fact, several County Central Committees establish permanent offices and hire staff.

What do County Central Committee members do?

During their term, County Central Committee members organize activities throughout their county. They hold informational meetings; they raise funds for their projects; they plan and implement voter registration drives; and they facilitate the different Democratic campaign operations within their county.   County Central Committee members are elected every two years.

Here’s why it’s important for YOU to run for your local Democratic County Central Committee:

Over the years, the Democratic Party has relied on the participation of committed Democrats in each county to conduct voter outreach and to build and invigorate the party.  Your local Democratic Party is only as strong as its members; so if you want to join with other active, hard-working Democrats and take on a bigger role in your community, roll up your sleeves and get involved!

Democratic County Central Committees fulfill other important obligations.  During each term, they elect delegates from among their membership to the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC). Those delegates then conduct the business of the California Democratic Party.  There are approximately 3,200 DSCC delegates, and about one-third of them are elected from the County Central Committees.  The formula that is applied is as follows:  each Central Committee elects four at-large delegates; then they elect further delegates at the rate of one per 10,000 registered Democrats in their county.

Those County Central Committee DSCC delegates then go to the statewide California Democratic Party conventions, where they vote on resolutions, candidate and proposition endorsements, and the party platform.

Members of the Democratic County Central Committees will be elected in the June 3 primary.  The Democratic Party needs active and committed Democrats throughout the entire state to fill these Central Committee positions.  So if you want to get involved and participate in your local Party, the deadline to apply to become a candidate and earn your Howard Dean “A” is on Friday, March 7.  Go to the California Democratic Party website to get the full rundown.

“Election by election, state by state, precinct by precinct, door by door, vote by vote… we’re going to lift our Party up and take this country back for the people who built it.”

— Gov. Howard Dean, Chair, Democratic National Committee

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

(Some quick action – promoted by shayera)

Earlier today, dday posted a diary about the confusing ballot that will be handed out to Independent (Decline to State) voters who request a Democratic ballot in Los Angeles County.  As dday pointed out, those DTS voters will have to mark their ballot twice in order for it to be valid — they’ll have to fill in the bubble next to their candidate AND fill in the bubble on the line marked “Democratic.”

A few hours ago, the California Democratic Party sent out the following email to Decline to State voters in Los Angeles County in an attempt to alert them to this problem:

Now, the San Jose Mercury News has quoted the LA Registrar of voters as follows:

“It would almost be counterintuitive for someone to miss,” said Dean Logan, the acting county registrar. “We have put this information in voter education materials, and we’ve provided real clear instructions.”

Huh… Looks like yet another case of “Blame the voter.”

In the meantime, you can either call the Secretary of State’s office at 1-800-345-VOTE(8683) or the California Democratic Party headquarters at 1-916-442-5707 with questions or problems.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

(Great info from the CDP.  Moved some stuff below the fold for space issues. – promoted by Julia Rosen)

Cross posted on Daily Kos

On Monday, the California Democratic Party will send its latest message to Independent (Decline to State) voters notifying them that they are eligible to vote for the Democratic candidates in Tuesday’s presidential primary.  Two separate emails will be sent to approximately 195,000 DTS voters.

One email will go to regular DTS voters and explain the process for obtaining a Democratic ballot at their polling place.  The other email will be sent to DTS Permanent Absentee Voters, letting them know that if they have a non-partisan ballot that they haven’t yet returned, they can take it to their polling place and exchange it for a Democratic ballot.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC ON FEBRUARY 5TH!!

As we head to the polls on Tuesday, Feb. 5, Californians will be playing an exciting and unfamiliar role in presidential primary politics:  Our votes are going to be important in selecting the 2008 presidential nominee.  In the spirit of small-d democracy, the California Democratic Party has opened its primary process to independent (Decline to State) voters throughout our great state.

In 2008, if you are registered as Decline to State, you can request a Democratic ballot which will allow you to vote for one of the Democratic candidates for president.  All you have to do is request a Democratic ballot at your polling place.  The poll workers will not offer you a Democratic ballot; you MUST ask for it.  You can read about your rights to request a Democratic ballot at the Secretary of State’s website.

To make the voting process a little easier for you, the California Democratic Party has prepared several tools at our website, www.cadem.org, to help you on Election Day:

• If you have any questions about your rights as a voter, you can visit the CDP’s Voters Rights page for assistance.
• If you aren’t sure where to go to vote, we have a Polling Place Locator to help you find the polling place for your precinct.
• If you would like to get more information about the candidates who are still actively participating in the race, you can visit our Candidate Profile page, which will give you links to each candidate’s website.
• If you have questions about the propositions on your ballot, the California Democratic Party has officially made an endorsement of No on 91 and Yes on 93.  We have no official position on Propositions 92, 94, 95, 96 or 97.

If you experience any voting irregularities or encounter any difficulty in casting your vote on Tuesday, you can call the Secretary of State’s office at 1-800-345-VOTE(8683).  

And if you have any questions or problems, you can always contact the California Democratic Party headquarters at 1-916-442-5707.

This year, Californians finally have a chance to influence the choice of our Democratic presidential nominee.  Don’t miss out on your chance to stand up and be counted.

VOTE DEMOCRATIC ON FEBRUARY 5TH!!

Recently, the Courage Campaign has done yeoman’s work in getting the word out to DTS voters that they are entitled to vote on a Democratic ballot on Tuesday.  Their message builds on one the CDP has been pushing for a long time.

Back in March of 2007, the California Democratic Party was spreading the news that DTS voters were welcome to participate in the Democratic primary:

If California’s independent voters want a voice in next year’s presidential primary, they better start paying attention to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and the rest of the Democratic candidates.

While the nearly 20 percent of California voters who register as decline to state will be welcome in the Democratic presidential primary, they will be barred from casting a ballot for any of the Republican presidential hopefuls. […]

“There are a lot of decline-to-state voters in this state who tend to have Democratic ideals and values,” said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the state party. “We’re happy to have them vote in our primary.”

Decline-to-state voters are the fastest-growing segment of the California electorate, particularly among young voters, and Republicans and Democrats desperately need the support of those independents to win in November.

An independent voter who had a chance to support a Democrat in the primary is likely to continue to back that candidate in the November general election when everyone can vote, Salazar said.

“We’d like to see those voters invested early in Democratic candidates,” he said. “That will help, come the general election.” […]

“Our goal is to increase Democratic voter registration,” Salazar said. “If we can let independent voters know they’re welcome, maybe the next time they re-register, they will check the ‘D’ box.”

As the election drew closer, on December 11, 2007, the CDP sent a public service announcement to the California media:

The California Democratic Party will allow Californians who are registered as Decline to State (commonly known as “Independents”) to vote in our presidential primary on February 5th. This will give Independents the same voting options as Democrats to choose a presidential candidate.

Independent Permanent Absentee voters are being sent a card from their County Election office stating that two (Democrats and the American Independent Party) of the six recognized political parties will allow Independents to vote in their presidential primary and asking if they want the absentee ballot for either party sent to them.

Independent Absentee voters must mail the card back to their County Election official indicating their choice of Party, otherwise they will be sent a ballot in January with only Propositions on it.

Independents who go to the polls on Election Day (February 5, 2008) can get either their regular ballot with Propositions only, or ask for a Democratic presidential ballot to also be able to vote on presidential candidates.

For further information call the Secretary of State’s hotline 1-800-345-VOTE (extension line #7) or go to California Democratic Party’s website (www.cadem.org).

Later in the month, on December 26, 2007, the CDP sent out emails to a list of 90,000 DTS permanent absentee voters advising them how to get a Democratic absentee ballot:

Want to vote for Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Gravel, Kucinich, Obama or Richardson on February 5th?

You Can!

You are receiving this email because records show that you are registered as a “Decline to State” (Independent) and as a Permanent Absentee Voter.

The California Democratic Party rules allow registered Independents to vote in our presidential primary.  By the way, the Republican Party voted to prohibit Independents from participating in their presidential election.

If you are registered as a Permanent Absentee Voter, your County Registrar of Voters should have sent you a notice about this option.  Hopefully they provided you a postage paid return card to request, if desired, a Democratic ballot.

If you want to vote in the Democratic presidential primary, notify your County Elections official ASAP and request a Democratic Party ballot.  If your county doesn’t hear from you soon, starting on January 7th they will send you an absentee ballot containing only the ballot measures. […]

If you can’t find the notice from your county, follow this link to find your county elections office phone number.  

Independents who vote at polling places on February 5, 2008, may request from the pollworkers a Democratic Ballot when you sign the roster.

But sadly, even after all of our attempts to notify them, there will be too many DTS voters who are unaware that they are eligible to vote on a Democratic ballot this Tuesday. With the number of DTS voters swelling, Democrats face a real challenge in finding ways to communicate with folks who have opted out of the party system.  And based on current trends, this problem is only going to continue to grow.  We’re all going to have to work together to develop new and better ways to communicate with Decline to State voters if we are to be successful going forward.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party