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Democrats Punish Florida and Michigan for Early Primary
Is half a vote better than none? That's what Democratic primary voters in Michigan and Florida must be wondering right now. Their delegates will be seated at the Democratic National Convention in August. But when it comes time to nominate Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president, they will only get one half a vote each.
The reason that Michigan and Florida are in this situation has to do with a rule that Democrats in those states broke when they held their primary elections. Michigan and Florida wanted to move up their primaries so they could be among the first states to vote. The Democratic National Committee, or DNC, didn't like this idea, because it meant that the candidates would have to compete in more states at once. That would cost them too much money.
So the DNC told Michigan and Florida that if they held their primaries earlier then they wouldn't get to have any say at the national convention. The two states did what they wanted to do anyway. As a compromise the rules committee of the Democratic Party decided on Saturday to seat them but reduce their power. This is especially bad news for Hillary Clinton who was counting on those states' delegates to help her catch up to Barack Obama. She must now decide whether to appeal the committee's decision.
I'm Ben and that's what happened in our nation this week.
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