Convention Rules Update

If you're registered as a paid delegate to the 11th District convention tomorrow, you should have received a mailing from me this week that included a more detailed explanation of how participation in the convention and voting will work. This information is also available on this website by clicking on "How Does This Vote Work" above.
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Since then, you may have heard that the Rules Committee for the convention was considering changing the voting method from majority (winners must get over 50% of the vote) to plurality  (whoever receives the most number of votes wins, even if less than 50%). The majority method was specified in public notices that went out months ago, but plurality would take less time because only one round of voting would be required.

The Rules Committee decided NOT to make the change during their meeting late last night. That means the majority rule still stands (unless the participants in the convention amend the rule from the floor).

An important point you should know about the majority rule is that voting a full ballot will help the convention finish sooner. In other words, if everyone chooses 3 candidates each for State Central Committee and National Delegate, it is more likely that some or all seats will be filled on the first ballot. If you only vote for 1 or 2 people, there will be fewer votes to go around, and fewer people will be selected by at least 50% of the voters.

If the convention proceeds to a second or subsequent ballot, please pay close attention to how many people you may vote for in each race, and who is still left for consideration. E.g. if only Candidate A for State Central Committee wins a majority in round one, you need to be careful to select only two candidates in round two, and do not select Candidate A as one of the two, because he or she has already been seated. If you vote for more candidates than you are allowed in a round, all of your votes for that position will be invalidated, though your votes for the other positions may still be counted.

If you want to get updates on your mobile device to help you keep track of what's going on during the convention, please provide your email and/or mobile phone number by clicking here and checking the "May 19 Rapid Response" box. You can also come to my table just outside the #6 entrance and ask questions of me or my volunteer helpers.

As a final note, the Rules Committee also determined last night that each of the candidates for Chairman of the 11th District will be allowed to speak for 3 minutes, and each of the other candidates will be allowed to speak for 1 minute. This gives you a brief opportunity to see them in person, but not enough to get to know them well, so I encourage you to read and bring the emails and mailings you have been getting from all of the candidates to get to know them better. Please arrive at Oakton High School no later than 11:00 a.m. in order to see the candidate speeches.

See you tomorrow!

Lillian

* P.S. In case you're wondering what my position is on this majority vs. plurality issue... I would have preferred a plurality vote when the rule was originally set by the 11th District Committee back in February, because the convention would take less of your time and it would be less confusing. However, I do not support a last minute change to the rules, especially when the person appointing the Rules Committee members potentially stands to benefit from the change. So I was glad to see the Rules Committee act independently and keep the original rule. If the convention participants choose to change the rule from the floor, however, I believe that is a fair process.