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Many Ohio voters at the March 6th election noticed that their ballot had listings for Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the National Convention of their respective Parties rather than just listing the Presidential candidates.   Contrary  to popular opinion, the  voters weren't voting for the candidate of their favorite TV commercial, but the allocation of delegates between the candidates at the Party Caucus which will choose the Delegates to the Convention which will then choose the party Candidate to run for President in the Fall election.  The March Primary did not settle the race for Party Candidate for President.  It began the Convention delegate allocation  process.  The party Caucus will select the Delegates to the Convention and the Convention will select a Candidate to run for President.  For the Democrat Party in the State of Ohio that will take place on April 12 in every Congressional District in Ohio.

 

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In every Congressional District in the country, there will be one or more  partisan  caucui (sp?caucus plural) held this election year.  These are to choose delegates for the national conventions for the respective parties.  We have been watching the news for the caucus activity going on in various other States already this year.  As the Democrat party only has one candidate on the  Presidential ballot this year, they are not so much in the news as are the Republicans. As has already been reported, Ohio had a Statewide Primary on March 6 which had all the names of candidates who have qualified to be on their respective party's ballots.

The Ohio Democrat Party will also hold a party caucus in each Congressional District in Ohio on April 12 to formally select delegates to the  Democrat National Convention.  The Convention will be held in Charlotte, N.C. on September 3-7.  

 

The Ohio Democrat Party has been seeking a convenient location in the 2nd Congressional District to hold the local caucus.  During the last decade, the 2nd Congressional District encompassed parts of Hamilton, Warren, Lawrence and all of Clermont, Brown, Adams, Pike and Scioto Counties.  The Democrats have been looking for a location that is convenient to all areas of the District and still large enough and appropriate to host the gathered members of the party who assemble to select their delegates to the convention.   Many want it on St Rt 32 for ease of travel to and from each end of the District.  The Ohio Democrat Party had looked as a number of sites.

The Mt Orab High School has been approved by the District Officer and  Brown County will host the 2012 Democrat Caucus in the 2nd Congressional District of Ohio.  "The attendance would be larger in a year in which there was a contested primary, however, we still expect 200-300 people to attend from all over the 2nd Cong. District".  Each County may offer candidates for delegate.  Brown County had four such persons aspiring to be selected and we are sure each County will bring their own slate of candidates.  The competition will be vigorous.

 

Dallas Hurt

Chairman,

Brown County Democrat Party

Some are asking why the Republicans are having all the fun and when will we get to vote for President Obama?

 

You're going to hate me for this.   It is what Sandy calls "too much information"!

 

First of all, one gets on the ballot for President by being selected to run as the party's candidate at a national convention and obtaining the majority of votes from the party's delegates there,  not necessarily by winning a number of primaries.

 

Secondly, only partisans can vote in the respective party Primaries.  All organized parties have their own primaries and conventions in this country.  Here in Ohio, we have the Republican, Democrat, Constitution, Green, Socialist, and Communist Parties, which are eligible to place candidates on their primary ballots and thus get on the general fall ballot. As a voter, one has to declare themselves as a member of a selected party to vote in that primary race and help pick that party's candidates.  One cannot vote in any other party primary without changing one's party affiliation, (however, some few States allow "open primaries" where anyone can vote in any single party primary race in any year, but only one, without declaring their party afilifation. This is called crossover voting ).

 

Regarding any partisan primary when there is no challenger within the respective party, ala GWB in 2004 and Clinton in 1996, the grass roots party machinery at the local level will send / solicit volunteers to a regional "caucus" in each Congressional District in the Country, and there, largely out of sight from the press (mainly because they think it too boring to attend), the party will select "Delegates to the National Convention pledged to  vote for the incumbent officer / official" who is running for the office unopposed in the party. Those "delegates" so selected are "pledged" to go to the Convention and vote on the first round of balloting for the incumbent official in office.   They could conspire, collaborate, rebel and change their collective minds and select another candidate, which would effectively oust the incumbent and run another in his place with no redress for him.  That just doesn't happen, but the incumbent official always shows up at the convention to make sure it doesn't.   If no candidate is chosen by majority vote on the first round of voting, the delegates are free agents and can switch their votes thereafter.

 

Regarding these competitive primaries, in either party, the candidates run in "delegate selection contests", ( i.e  the primaries) to "gather" delegates for the convention where they hope to knock out their competitors.  If any candidate gathers enough delegates in the primaries to win the nomination at the convention on the first round of voting, he is deemed to have won the place on the Fall ballot in the general election and will be the candidate of his/her party.

 

Presidential Elections are not decided by obtaining the majority national election vote.   Remember Florida and the Bush Gore Election of 2000?   One can win the most votes and still lose the race because the electorate does not directly elect the President.  He / She is elected in December of every "leap year" by the delegates to the "Electoral College".   The November Election is counted by State and Congressional District. Whichever candidate in November wins your Congressional District vote will have a "Delegate", usually a Congress Person, show up in December at the Electoral College and vote as the District voted.  Likewise Senators or their representatives. There are 538 votes in the Electoral College ( 435 for Congressional Districts, 100 Senators and 3 votes for Wash. D.C., which otherwise has no votes in Congress, neither as Senator nor Congressman ).  

See  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States)