13th Congressional District
Democratic Delegate Caucus

The 13th Congressional District Caucus (all of Sarasota, DeSoto, and Hardee Counties; most of Manatee County; and a small part of Charlotte County) will convene on March 1, 2008 to elect delegates to the Democratic National Convention. The Caucus will vote at the:

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
5000 Lakewood Ranch Blvd
Bradenton, FL
(map here)

Registration begins at 10:00 am, voting will be between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.

All democrats registered in the 13th Congressional District as of 12/31/07 are eligible to vote. Voters will need to bring a picture ID and a voter ID card. Voters without voter ID cards must complete a Declaration of Registration, which is available at the Caucus.

Three Presidential Candidates received greater than 15% of the vote in the 13th Congressional District: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama. The five delegates allotted to this district are divided proportionally based on the number of votes they received on January 29, 2008. Hillary Clinton will have three delegates, two females and one male. John Edwards will have one female delegate. Barack Obama will have one male delegate. Each Presidential Candidate will have a ballot with the names of their delegate candidates.

As a caucus voter you will only receive the ballot for the Presidential Candidate you want to support. The delegate ballot is shown below. Ballots are not secret and will have to be signed by the voter to be valid. Ballots with overvotes and undervotes will not be counted.

For more information on the delegate selection process see our short FAQ section below, visit this page on the Florida Democratic Party website, or contact Chris Carroll at chris.carroll@sarasotadems.org (or 941-371-1736).

Delegate Ballots by Candidate:

FAQs

1) I thought we already had our Presidential Preference Primary and Hillary won. So, if Florida is going to the Denver convention, don't we know how our delegate votes will be cast?

The delegates are allotted by the Presidential Preference Primary, but they are only bound to vote for that candidate on the first ballot.

2) So this caucus is just to decide which people go to Denver, depending on how they line up with the candidates / delegate vote. Won't they vote the same no matter who goes? Why is it important for me to participate in this caucus?

Your vote in this caucus is important because these delegates are representing you. If you strongly support a Presidential Candidate, then you will want to elect delegates that will stay with your candidate beyond the first ballot. Most of the delegate candidates will be at the caucus site campaigning for your vote so you can meet them and ask questions. Many times one vote makes the difference in winning or losing these caucus elections.

3) There is talk of Florida having to possibly hold a Caucus to officially decide our delegates (if the Presidential Preference Primary doesn't count). Is this that caucus?

No, this caucus is only to elect the apportioned delegates and is in accordance with the Florida Delegate Selection Plan. The Florida Democratic Party decided that having a primary election rather than a caucus to determine delegate allocation would allow for more voter participation. 1.7 million Democrats voted in our Presidential Preference Primary either at the polls, in early voting, or by absentee ballot. At a caucus, voters have to be present to vote which eliminates many from being able to participate. The Florida Democratic Party will not be making changes to the Delegate Selection Plan.

4) I didn’t vote in the Presidential Preference Primary, may I vote for delegates?

Yes. The only requirements are that you are a Democrat and you registered to vote before December 31, 2007.