Placing Senator Clinton’s name into “nomination” at next week’s Democratic convention has generated considerable confusion in the media and even among political pros. Do party rules technically require a formal “nomination” in order for delegates to vote for that person? Is there even a formal “ballot?” As this site points out, don’t rely on press reports or Democratic party bosses for a straight answer. For example, this ABC News piece incorrectly suggests that delegates can’t vote for Clinton if her name is not on the “ballot”: “party rules require such a move for a candidate to be voted on,” Rick Klein and David Chalian wrote last week. Even the Democratic party chairman contributes to the confusion. Talking to the press recently, Howard Dean argued that Hillary Clinton’s name will “definitely be on the ballot.” But delegates can vote for anyone – nominated or not. Democratic Party rule (VIII)(C)(7)(c) states: “Delegates may vote for the candidate of their choice whether or not the name of such candidate was placed in nomination.” Over the years, conventioneers supported luminaries such as Archie Bunker, Will Rodgers and even George Orwell. Second, there is technically no “ballot.” Voting occurs by state delegation. Next Wednesday night the convention will conduct the “roll call of the states.” Prior to that, each delegation will do a tally of its delegates, and they can vote for whomever they wish – nominated or not. The convention chair will then call upon states in alphabetical order. A representative of the delegation – normally the chairman or another person the state or Obama campaign wishes to highlight (like a high profile political candidate) – will have thirty seconds from the convention floor on national television to announce how his or her state delegates vote. This is where “conventioneeze” kicks in, and we hear statements like “The Bluegrass state of Kentucky, home of great bourbon and fast horses, casts ten of its votes for X and five of its votes for Y…” and so on. Bottom line: Delegates can vote for Hillary Clinton (or anyone else for that matter) whether or not she is formally nominated. This agreement announced last week has no bearing on delegates’ ability to vote for the New York senator. It’s simply another way to pay homage to her and her supporters in Denver. As for the Bart Simpson Caucus, they can vote for their guy too – whether or not his name is formally put into nomination.
