Will someone please explain how the state delegate system works?

[robinlynne]

I thought all the delegates from each state went to the winner of the race. I am an Edwards supporter. I am reading many articles saying that if we vote for Edwards, we will get him delegates. if that is true, then Edwards would recommend to his delegates who to vote for? if that is true, I would guess they go to Obama, and Edwards would be able to ask Obama to move a bit to the left, which sounds great.

on the other hand, it feels like if I vote for Edwards I might help Hilalry get elected, which I do not want to do.
And I thought that all the delegates from each state go to one candidate.
Can someone explain how the delegate process works? i knwo I should know this, but I'm confused.
Thank-you!

[tekisui]

1. I would like know what happens to Edwards delegates. Kicking.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. I'd love to hear a "Delegates for Dummies" explanation if possible. The simpler the better. nt

[Nite Owl]

3. I got this explanation in an

email:



In emails and conversations, I am finding that many people do not have an understanding of how delegates are allocated based upon the results of the NY primary on Tuesday. It really is quite complicated, but understanding some of the basics may influence how you vote next week.
So here is a bit of a primer. If you want to check it out for yourself here is the link http://nydems.org/docs/2008-DelegateSelectionPlan_Final_AdoptedbyStComm_and_ApprovedbyDNC.pdf
.

This is just the basic structure, not the entire thing.

The state has 280 delegates, 232 will be pledged the rest will not be pledged. Not pledged delegates are free to vote as they choose.
Pledged delegate are expected to vote in good faith for the candidate
they are pledged to support.

151 of the pledged delegates are selected based upon the election results in each congressional district. There are 29 CDs, some districts having 5 delegates and some have 6. To get a pledged delegate a candidate has to get at least 15% of the vote in that CD.
For each candidate that is over the 15%, the number of delegates is allocated according to the percentage of the vote they receive and the percentage received by other candidates above the threshold, obviously they have to round up or down to a whole number, there a no fractional
delegates.

There are also 81 pledged delegates which are allocated based upon the statewide vote. The same method more or less is used.

Assume that the state wide result is Clinton 55%, Obama 40% and others adding up to 5%. The others get no delegates since they did not exceed the threshold of 15%. Then the number of delegates is determined by multiplying the vote percentage by the number of delegates to be allocated. The result is 44.55 (81 * 0.55) for Hillary and 32.4 for Obama. Right of the bat, Hillary is allocated 44 and Obama gets 32. That leaves 5 more to allocate. Because Hillary has the larger fraction of a remainder (.55 compared to .4) she gets the next delegate, Obama gets the second and then back and forth until they are all used up. So in the end, Hillary has 47 to Obama's 34 for the state wide pledged delegates.

The same procedure is used on the CD level, based upon the number of delegates allocated to that CD and the voting results in that CD.

Hopefully you can see that your vote matters. I would also point out that if you vote for one of the non-contenders, it is possible that your last choice will benefit from your vote.







This is for NYS. I don't know what others states do.

[robinlynne]

4. Thank-you so very much!!!!!!!!