County Democrats to Vote Again?

Karen Thurman, the head of Florida's Democrat Party, has proposed that Florida Democrats (including more than 8,000 from Jackson County) vote a second time so that their votes will count at least once.

The latest plan is one of a number that have been tossed around over the last week as it becomes more and more apparent that Florida's votes could prove critical in deciding whether Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) or Sen. Barrack Obama (D-IL) will become the party's nominee for this fall's Presidential election.

More than 8,000 Jackson County Democrats went to the polls in January to vote for the candidates of their choice. Although Sen. Clinton won Florida as a whole in that election, Jackson County votes picked Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), followed by Sen. Obama, with Sen. Clinton coming in third.

The Democratic National Committee, however, has said that none of Florida's 1.75 million votes should count because the state moved up the date of its election. In past years, the Presidential elections have largely been decided by the time Floridians get to vote, so the state opted to move its election up to late January (right after the Iowa and New Hampshire votes) to give its citizens more of a chance to participate in the process. National Democrats, however, oppose giving Florida more of a voice and have refused to seat the state's delegates at the upcoming National Convention.

The 8,000 Jackson County votes from January that apparently will not count are more than 16 times the number involved in the controversial 2000 Presidential election in Florida. That contest resulted in lawsuits that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The new plan from Thurman would call for a "do over" vote. Florida's Democrats would send in their votes by mail this time, or go to one of only 50 polling places established in the state.

All nine members of the state's Congressional Delegation oppose the plan. It is uncertain at this time whether this plan or any other will be implemented (at a cost of millions of dollars) or whether Florida's Democrat votes will count at all this year.