Reactions to Jan. 29 Primary: Democrats, Republicans

Democrats Because the early date violates DNC rules, the national party has reduced Florida's allotment of delegates by 100% to zero. Florida Democratic Party: www.MakeItCountFlorida.com Organization: Clinton  |  Obama Official Results Joe Biden 15,704 0.90% +Hillary Clinton 870,986 49.77% Chris Dodd 5,477 0.31% John Edwards 251,562 14.38% Mike Gravel 5,275 0.30% Dennis Kucinich 9,703 0.55% Barack Obama 576,214 32.93% Bill Richardson 14,999 0.86% Total 1,749,920 Reaction: Clinton Debates/Forums: -Sept. 9, 2007 - Univision Democratic debate at BankUnited Center at the University of Miami, in Miami, FL.

Republicans Because the early date violates RNC rules, the national party has reduced Florida's allotment of delegates by half, from 114 Delegates [3 RNC; 36 at-large; 75 by CD (3 x 25)] to 57 delegates and 57 alternates. Allocation: At large winner-take-all by statewide vote; CD winner-take-all by CD. Organization:  Giuliani  |  Huckabee  |  McCain  |  Romney Former:  F.Thompson   Official Results Rudy Giuliani 286,089 14.68% Mike Huckabee 262,681 13.47% Duncan Hunter 2,847 0.15% Alan Keyes 4,060 0.21% +John McCain 701,761 36.00% Ron Paul 62,887 3.23% Mitt Romney 604,932 31.03% Tom Tancredo 1,573 0.08% Fred Thompson 22,668 1.16% Total 1,949,498 McCain carried 20 congressional districts to five for Romney (CDs 3, 4, 6, 7 and 14).  Giuliani fared best in South Florida, obtaining 20% of the vote or more in CDs 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 25.  Huckabee obtained 20% of the vote or more in three districts (CDs 1 and 2 in the Panhandle and CD 3 in the Gainesville area).  Reactions: Giuliani, Huckabee, McCain, Romney Debates/Forums: -Oct. 21, 2007 - Florida Republican Party/FOX News debate in Orlando, FL, part of the RPOF's Presidency IV convention. > -Nov. 28, 2007 - YouTube/Google and CNN debate in FL (initially scheduled for Sept. 17, 2007). > -Dec. 9, 2007 - Univision Network Presidential Forum at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL.  > (initially scheduled for Sept. 16 at University of Miami's BankUnited Center. -Jan. 24, 2008 - Republican Presidential Debate at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. > Note: The Florida Republican Party considered doing a straw poll during its Presidency IV convention, to be held Oct. 20-21, 2007 in Orlando, but ruled that out in Feb. 2007.  This would have been a mega-event like the Republican Party of Iowa's Straw Poll in Ames.

Setting the Primary Date
The effort to establish an early Florida primary traces back to the first part of 2006, when then incoming House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-Miami) set out the goal of moving the state's primary up to seven days after the New Hampshire primary.¹ Idea #37 of the House Republicans' "100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future" states, "Move Florida’s Presidential primary up to a time that would highlight Florida’s concerns and issues and would ensure our national influence in choosing a Presidential candidate."  On Jan. 23, 2007 Rep. David Rivera (R-Miami) filed HB 537, a bill to move the presidential primary to the first Tuesday in February or the first Tuesday immediately following the New Hampshire presidential preference primary, whichever occurs first.  The final bill, which weighed in at 80 pages, covered a range of topics ranging from third party voter registration to "requiring all voting to be by marksense ballot" (optical scan machines).  The bill also dropped the connection to the date of New Hampshire's primary and set the defined date of the last Tuesday in January.  The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 37-2 on April 27 and the House put up a vote of 118-0 on May 3.  On May 21, 2007 Gov. Charlie Crist (R) signed a bill to move the date of state's presidential primary to from the second Tuesday in March to the last Tuesday in January. >
1. See Lesley Clark and Mary Ellen Klas.  "Earlier primary touted as aid to Florida."  Miami Herald, March 31, 2006.

Seating the Delegations
Florida's move to the earlier date violates the national parties' rules, and both the DNC and the RNC have announced penalties:

Republicans: In August 2007 the RPOF Executive Board adopted the party's 2008 delegate selection rules as well as language that gives its chairman "the ability to address any decision that the Convention might undertake that is converse to this position." >On October 22, 2007 the RNC Executive Committee voted to penalize Florida and four other states by half their delegates to the the Republican National Convention for starting their delegate selection in advance of Feb. 5, 2008; those penalties are reflected in the Call to the Convention the RNC issued on November 9, 2007.

Democrats: State Democrats, facing a reduction in the number of pledged delegates and alternates by 50 percent, considered various options, such as holding caucuses or a convention on Feb. 5, 2008 or later.  A proposed vote by mail primary would have cost from $7 to 8 million.  On June 10, 2007 the State Executive Committee voted unanimously to use the state-run January 29 primary even at risk of a penalty. >  Some time later the DNC offered to put up $866,000 help fund a caucus with 120,000 ballots and 150 voting sites.  On August 4 the State Executive Committee formally adopted its Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action Plan, setting the date of Florida's Democratic Presidential Preference Primary for January 29, 2008. >

The matter heated up at the August 25 meeting of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, where representatives of the Florida Democratic Party pleaded that they had done what they could to move the date within the window but were at the mercy of the Republican-controlled legislature.  Further, they argued that holding a caucus with just 150 voting sites compared to 6,700 locations for the state-run primary would hurt efforts to build the party in this key state and could affect the outcome of property-tax referendum to be held on January 29.  The Rules and Bylaws Committee held firm, found the FDP plan in noncompliance, and voted to penalize Florida Democrats 100 percent of their delegates to the national convention if they did not come up with a plan within 30 days that complies with the timing requirement.  "We're going to follow the rules," said RBC member Donna Brazile.

However, Florida Democrats stood firm.  On September 23, 2007 Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman announced the party would participate in the January 29 primary.  In an open message on the FDP website Thurman wrote, "There will be no other primary.  Florida Democrats absolutely must vote on January 29th."  Clearly it would create a very awkward situation if Florida's delegates to the convention, to be held August 25-28, 2008 in Denver, CO, are not seated.  Conventional wisdom is that despite the DNC penalties, the Florida delegates will eventually be seated.  A FAQ on the FDP website notes, "Although the DNC has said it will not recognize delegates from Florida, the Party plans to appeal to the eventual Democratic nominee for President to be seated at the Convention." >

Additionally, on October 4, 2007, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and Congressman Alcee Hastings filed suit against Howard Dean and the DNC in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee seeking "among other things, a judicial declaration concerning whether the disenfranchisement of more than four million Democratic voters in Florida's Presidential primary election on January 29, 2008, violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the United States Constitution, as well as 42 U.S.C. %1983 and Section Two of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C %1973."  On December 5 the Court upheld the DNC's right to enforce its primary rules. >

In March 2008 there was a flurry of activity on the Democratic side around a possible revote.  In a March 10 op-ed in the Washington Post ("Delegates We Need"), Govs. Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) and Edward G. Rendell (D-PA), both Clinton supporters, argued for a revote in both Florida and Michigan and volunteered to help raise the funds to pay for such elections.  The Obama campaign was skeptical; in a March 12 conference call campaign manager David Plouffe expressed "deep concerns" about a mail-in vote, noting that it had taken Oregon ten years to perfect its vote-by-mail system.  Additionally the Florida Democratic members of Congress expressed "opposition to a new mail-in election or re-do election of any kind."  In this environment, on the evening of March 12, the Florida Democratic Party presented a draft proposal calling for "a combination vote-by-mail and in-person election...but only if Democratic leaders approve the plan."  The election was to occur on June 3.  In addition to the vote-by-mail component the proposal called for 50 regional election offices.  Cost of the election was put at $10-12 million.  Florida Democrats solicited reactions to the proposal, received thousands of responses, and concluded, "We spent the weekend reviewing your messages, and while your reasons vary widely, the consensus is clear: Florida doesn't want to vote again."
    March 17 - Florida Democratic Party:  "Florida Doesn't Want to Vote Again" (plus reactions from the Clinton and Obama campaigns) >
    March 13 - Florida Democratic Party:  "Party Puts Offer on the Table" >   and "Update..." >
    March 12 - Hillary Clinton for President:  letter, press release on seating delegates from Florida and Michigan >
    March 12 - Florida House Democratic Delegation:  "...opposition to a new mail-in election or re-do election of any kind." >
    March 5 - DNC:  "Dean Statement on Florida and Michigan" >
    March 5 - Florida and Michigan Governors:  "Don’t Silence 5,163,271 Americans" >
 

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Voter Registration for the General Election closed October 4, 2004.

Early voting: Started October 18, 2004 (SoS: "The 2004 Legislature passed legislation which standardizes early voting throughout the state...all supervisors will begin conducting early voting in their main and branch offices 15 days before the election.")

Of 7,646,092 total votes cast: 4,865,283 voters (63.6%) cast ballots on Election Day  1,352,447 voters (17.7%) cast absentee ballots  1,428,362 voters (18.7%) cast ballots at early voting sites  In addition: 27,742 people cast provisional ballots 10,007 provisional ballots were counted

+Bush/Cheney (Rep.) 3,964,522 (52.10) Kerry/Edwards (Dem.) 3,583,544 (47.09) Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.) 6,626 (0.09) Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.) 11,996 (0.16) Cobb/LaMarche (Grn.) 3,917 (0.05) Harris/Trowe (SWP) 2,732 (0.04) Brown/Hebert (Soc.) 3,502 (0.05) Nader/Camejo (Ref.) 32,971 (0.43) Total........7,609,810

2004 Overview There were no post-election dramatics this time, as Bush-Cheney carried the Sunshine State with a plurality of 380,978 votes (5.01 percentage points).  About 1.5 million more votes were cast than in 2000. General Election Details  |  Photos Kerry/Allies  |  Bush/Cheney '04

(Primary Election: August 31, 2004)

Past Results

1996 Clinton (Dem.).....2,546,870 (48.02) Dole (Rep.)..........2,244,536 (42.32) Perot (Ref.)............483,870 (9.12) Others (1+w/ins)......28,518 (0.54) Total........5,303,794 1992 Bush (Rep.)........2,173,310 (40.89) Clinton (Dem.).....2,072,798 (39.00) Perot (Ind.) .........1,053,067 (19.82) Others (1+w/ins)......15,317 (0.29) Total........5,314,492	2000 +Bush/Cheney (Rep.) 2,912,790  (48.85) Gore/Lieberman (Dem.) 2,912,253 (48.84) Browne/Olivier (Lib.) 16,415 (0.28) Nader/LaDuke (Grn.) 97,488 (1.63) Harris/Trowe (SWP) 562 (0.00) Hagelin/Goldhaber (NLP) 2,281 (0.04) Buchanan/Foster (Ref.) 17,484  (0.29) McReynolds/Hollis (Soc.) 622 (0.00) Phillips/Frazier (Const.) 1,371 (0.02) Moorehead/LaRiva(WWP) 1,804 (0.03) Chote/Lancaster (w/in) 34 -  McCarthy/Beifus (w/in) 6   -  Total........5,963,110 All told about 6.1 million people cast ballots in Florida.  According to the Florida Task Force report there were 179,855 blank or spoiled ballots; this includes uncertified results from 3 counties.  The Miami Herald, in its post-election analysis, examined 176,087 uncounted ballots: 111,261 overvotes and 64,826 undervotes, while.  USA Today examined 171,908 untabulated ballots: 111,261 overvotes and 60,647 undervotes.  The Florida Ballots Project suggests a total of around 172,000.  However, all these numbers depend on what is counted.  For example in some of the larger counties there were "trays and trays" of absentee ballots where, for example, the signatures didn't match, that didn't get counted. Turnout as a percentage of voting age population was 50.65%.  (U.S. avg: 53.76%).	Overview It took a 36-day post-election odyssey to finalize the outcome, but Gov. Bush officially won Florida by 537 votes.  The election was decided as much in the courts as at the polls (Battle for Florida), and there will always be doubts in some people's minds about who won.  Bush carried 51 counties and the federal absentee ballots, while Vice President Gore won in 16 counties.  The Democrats' base in Florida is in the southeast (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade), while Republicans fared well in rural counties. Thus in many ways the race came down to the I-4 corridor, which runs across central Florida from Tampa Bay through Orlando to Daytona Beach.  General Election Activity

Republican. 112 Delegates.
 

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