Description
A space for collecting information regarding the threat of DNC sanctions due to deviations from the strict proportionality interpretation of thefairness requirement.
Evidence for DNC sanctions
Examples of DNC sanctions
- Florida and Michigan were forced to negotiate the seating of their delegates due to their refusal to meet the repeated and high-profile demands of the DNC to change the date of their primaries.
Evidence against DNC sanctions
Texas has disproportionate delegate allocation
Email to DPCA mailing list, Donald Black (DA Germany, Legal Counsel), 23 Sept 2010
Hillary Clinton won the 2008 Texas primary popular vote, but Barack Obama won
more Texas delegates. This was due to disproportionate delegate allocation.
Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe explains this in his own book "Audacity to
Win":
... "The delegates in the Texas primary were also distributed a bit unusually:
they were awarded by state senate district, and districts with very high
Democratic turnout in past statewide elections were awarded proportionally more
delegates. This benefited us [the Obama campaign] tremendously, because some of
our stronger areas – progressive cities like Austin and African American areas
like Houston – were advantaged under this allocation formula. For example, a
state senate district in West Texas where Clinton was strong might offer only
three delegates total, while a district in the middle of Austin would offer
nine, even though both had the same population." ... The Audacity to Win, 2009,
Viking Press, page 190.
The Texas rules, under Article VII, National Delegate Selection Rules, 8 to 12,
can be read at:
http://www.txdemocrats.org/resources/tdp-rules/
http://www.txdemocrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TDPRules-2010-2012.pdf
Texas was not kicked-out in 2008 despite its disproportionate allocation of
delegates.
But, Florida and Michigan nearly were, since they violated the primary vote time
line.
I know this reference is only anecdotal, but it is evidence that Democrats
Abroad are not alone with a disproportionate allocation formula.