Recently, there has been a misconception on voting twice by candidates, the media, and other sources, however, we wish to correct this misconception. You do not vote twice, but in reality what voters are doing are voting at the polls and if they so choose to, attend their Convention Precinct where you show your support for a candidate, so voters are not voting a second time as it has been misinterpreted.

What voters CAN DO is participate in the 2008 Presidential Election and the Presidential Precinct Conventions. The first step in participating in the 2008 Presidential Primary is by voting early or vote on March 4th. The second step is participating in the 2008 Presidential Primary is by attending your local voting precinct convention at 7:15 p.m. on March 4th. At this convention, you will show your support, or uncommitted status, for your presidential candidate. This is where the "voting twice" misconception originated from.

Participation in the conventions is not mandatory it is simply a way to: 1). Show support for your candidate 2). The start to becoming a delegate to the county, state and national conventions. All you have to do is present yourself at 7:15 p.m. at your voting location to participate. You do not need to sign up before 7:15 p.m. or have any other documents that you want to participate.

Texas is allocated 228 delegates to the 2008 National Convention, and from this, 75% (126 of the total 228 delegates) of the national delegates are allocated to each Senatorial District which are dependent on the results on March 4th. A presidential candidate will have these delegates are allocated to them by their percentage of votes on this day, however, the remaining delegates are chosen by convention participation (or 42 delegates out of the 228).

The convention system is a three part process: from your voting precinct, county convention, and then the state convention. Whoever can keep their delegates participating, when they make it to the state convention, those 25% of remaining delegates will be allocated by proportion of presidential preference at the state level.

To simplify: the convention process is the extra credit points for the presidential candidates.

With the response of over 21,000 voters in El Paso and joining other Texas Democrats who keep outnumbering Republicans in their primary, we are equally anticipating a similar surge of convention participation and we are proud for the number of Democrats who are participating. It is a victory for the Democratic Party and our candidates. For more information, please contact the El Paso County Democratic Party office at 533-2141.

Thank You

Daniel Anchondo
Chairman
El Paso County Democratic Party