Democratic Women For Voter Participation

This came out yesterday. WOW - good for them!!

Immediate Release: April 2, 2008 Contact: Michal Regunberg
617-547-9525

DEMOCRATIC WOMEN FOR VOTER PARTICIPATION
LAUNCH SUPERDELEGATE CAMPAIGN
TO “COUNT ALL THE VOTES”

BOSTON – A group of Democratic women politicians and other Democratic women leaders--“Democratic Women for Voter Participation”--today launched a campaign to have Massachusetts super-delegates pledge their support – no matter whom they back – for a fair and inclusive process that counts all the votes cast in statewide primaries, including those of Florida and Michigan.

They have drafted a petition that they will ask all Massachusetts’ super-delegates to sign, supporting a full-fledged primary in Michigan and either the counting of the Florida primary results or a full-fledged primary in that state.

“Massachusetts Democrats have long fought for inclusion, fairness and the democratic process,” said Senate President Therese Murray. “Now is no time to back off those principles. We are counting on the super-delegates of our state – a state with a proud tradition of caring about fairness and equal representation -- to speak up for voter participation in this historic primary season,” she said.

“We want our eventual nominee to move into the general election after a scrupulously fair process in which all the voters have had their voices heard,” she added.

“This is not just a matter of basic democratic principles. It is also about practical politics. The Democratic Party cannot afford to move into the general elections with voters feeling as though the party did not want to count their votes or listen to their passionate feelings about our future,” she said.

The group said that despite the fact that super-delegates may be backing different candidates, they hope and expect that, as Democrats, they will be united in their determination to make sure the process is fair to both of the candidates and to the millions of voters who have cast their votes in this primary season.

With memories of the Florida recount of 2000 still fresh in their minds, these women said the Democratic party would not be wise to leave out the voters from these two important and populous states.

Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral, looking ahead to the general election battle said, “We will need to win Michigan and Florida in the general election. Those two states represent 10 percent of the popular vote cast during the primaries and are critical to a general election victory in November.”

These women leaders said they will begin immediately to get their petition signed by each and every one of the 23 Massachusetts super-delegates.

“And once again,” Murray said, “Massachusetts will lead the nation in doing what is right and fair for all the voters.”

Here's the pledge that the voters in MA are asking the super delegates to sign- This should be a national effort- the Revolution has begun today-pass it on!

MASSACHUSETTS SUPERDELEGATES CALL FOR COUNTING ALL THE VOTES

In Massachusetts, we have a long and proud history of leading this great nation in working towards fairness, equality and the enfranchisement of all citizens. We have led the nation many times before in calling for the right thing to be done, and, across our differences, we join in the same call today.

In the Democratic Party, we are in a primary election season like no other: passions are high and engagement is intense. Both of the candidates vying for our Party’s nomination show the best of us and of this country, and both of their campaigns have sparked something extraordinary. There are the obvious measures. Both campaigns have raised historic amounts of financial support, and both candidates have inspired record turn-out in every state where the primary contests have been waged thus far. Each candidate has succeeded in engaging people at very core of our Democratic Party, while getting many who had checked out of politics to check back in.

As super-delegates, we may not all be backing the same candidate in this primary season contest, and some of us have determined to stay neutral until all voters have had their say. We are, however, united in this: we want our eventual nominee to move into the general election after a scrupulously fair process, in which all voters who had their voices heard. This is a basic democratic principle. It is also a matter of practical politics. We can ill afford to leave Democratic voters with the feeling that we did not want to count their votes or listen to their passionate feelings about this race and our future.

We know and appreciate that rules cannot be flouted. We also know that we have waived our rules in the past, and this is no time to appear as though we are inconsistent in the way we apply them. To retreat to formalistic reasons to deny counting the votes in Florida and Michigan, or to offer up to voters back-room deals to distribute the delegates coming from two of the largest states in this country, would be both wrong and foolish. Let us remember: Florida and Michigan account for nearly 10% percent of the popular vote total in this primary season. They also are significant prizes in November and, if we want to succeed in the general election, we should not disenfranchise those voters now.

As Democrats, we remember all too well the 2000 presidential election. The Republican Party used delay and legal maneuvering to stifle the votes of hundreds of thousands of voters. The bitter taste and anger from those times and those tactics are still fresh for many of us. We must be better than that. We cannot let our Party do to the voters of Michigan and Florida what we railed against the Republicans for doing. Ours has been – and must be today – the Party of inclusion, the Party that demands that every vote be counted. Now is not the time to walk away from our principles.

We know and trust that, if we are good stewards of our Party and conduct a fair process, we will have a Party unified behind whichever candidate becomes the nominee. Working together, we will then usher in a new era of Democratic leadership in January of 2009.

http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11158