Hillary Clinton vs. Texas Democratic Party
Referee whistle: silent, no foul
Yahoo News reports: “Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign has raised the possibility of a challenge to Texas’ primary and caucus rules just days before the contest, drawing a warning against legal action from the state’s Democratic Party.”
Full story: Clinton may challenge Texas vote rules
The seminal article for electionReferee.com is this article: A Quick Guide to the Democratic Party Rule Book. The end of this article includes a section specifically on the Texas Democratic Party rules as “a case study in confusion”.
We will see how this plays out. The Clinton campaign is right to point out that these Texas rules are a mess. It is certainly in their right to pursue legal action, but it seems unlikely this will go anywhere. The Texas Democratic Party also has the right to set any rules it wants as long as the rules do not violate U.S or Texas law, and these rules probably are legal.
The Clinton campaign has a good political argument (but probably not legal argument) that the Texas rules are too confusing and distort the actual voting. It is possible that Clinton will get more votes in Texas, but Obama will gain more delegates. The Texas rules give more delegates to senatorial districts that have voted for Democrats in the past. Some votes count more than others and this is unfair, but probably not illegal.
It is also not fair to change the rules after the process has begun. However, I am happy that the Clinton campaign is publicizing this issue. Hopefully, the National Democratic Party will improve its rules and impose some standardization, simplification, and logic on the state parties. They will have this opportunity at the Democratic Party National Convention in Denver, August 25-28 2008, but not before then.
Finally, if you want to dig deeper into the topic of the Texas Democratic Party Rules, first take some Advil and then read this: Texas Delegate Selection Plan. It’s only 37 pages, enjoy!
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Comment by Peg Barry
Posted on March 3, 2008 at 4:38 pm
All I know is: You can’t change the rules after you have begun the game. I hate that!! And have no respect for people who try to do that. This is utterly confusing and I’m glad you’re doing these posts - We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I think we all have Hillary/Obama fatigue. I know I do and will be happy when one is chosen .. the sooner the better. I’m in Illinois so there is nothing I can do now but watch the game and see what you have to say as a referee.