US Democrats in Florida quandary

By Jamie Coomarasamy
BBC News, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Florida Democrats are worried their voices will not be heard

There are dark clouds looming over the Democratic Party in the Sunshine State.

After Florida's drawn out re-count in 2000, which brought the US presidential election to its messy conclusion, the state once again finds itself in controversial electoral waters.

The difference this time, is that it is not Democrat versus Republican, but Democrat versus Democrat.

"We are in a state of utter confusion," says Steve Geller, the Democratic Leader in the Florida State Senate.

"The Democratic National Committee seems more concerned with us accepting their authority than with us winning the general election."

As things stand at the moment, the 1.75 million Florida Democrats who voted in the state's primary election on 29 January will not have a say in who becomes their presidential nominee.

Infighting

That is because the Democratic National Committee, the DNC, ruled that any states which moved their primaries ahead of 5 February without the DNC's permission would not have their delegates seated at the National Convention in August.

Florida and Michigan fell foul of that ruling. Their 366 delegates are simply not included in the current statistics about how many delegates each candidate needs to win to secure the nomination.

It's a big mess - that's the only way to describe the situation Arthur Anderson, Elections Supervisor, Palm Beach County

Florida's Democrats argue that it was not their fault. They say that the law bringing the primary date forward was passed by a Republican-majority legislature.

Even if they had wanted to protest, they did not have enough votes.

"Florida is one of the two biggest swing states in the country," an angry Steve Geller told me, in his law firm's offices in Fort Lauderdale.

"I have polling data which suggests that at least a quarter of Democrats will stay at home in the general election - or vote for the Republican candidate - if their votes are not counted in the nominating process.

"We are being given the death penalty by the Democratic National Committee, which - I have to say - will mean mutually assured destruction."

Risk of defection

Lia Gaines is one of those disgruntled Democrats. A Barack Obama supporter from Palm Beach County, she usually works to mobilise young voters.

Hillary Clinton turned up in Florida after the vote on 29 January

If she is not satisfied with the legitimacy of the Florida primary process, she might mobilise herself for another party's candidate.

"I'll consider Ralph Nader or John McCain," she says, "sometimes you've got to make a stand as a matter of conscience".

Whoever is to blame, that kind of reply is bound to concern Democratic party leaders. In John McCain, the Republicans have a candidate who appeals to many independents and moderate Democrats.

The Democratic National Committee says that rules are rules. Its chairman, Howard Dean, is calling on the candidates and the offending states to come up with a suitable compromise.

Florida Democrats have floated one possibility: a largely postal ballot, ending on 3 June, with the provision for registered Democrats to cast their votes, in person, at 50 special polling sites.

Steve Geller said Florida Democrats were in a state of "utter confusion"

They have given the candidates and the DNC until Monday to mull over what they believe, with rather lukewarm enthusiasm, is the best of a bunch of bad alternatives.

It does not appear likely to be accepted, though. The Obama campaign is concerned that many low income families, who frequently change addresses, simply would not receive their ballot papers.

The Clinton camp also prefers a separate in-person re-vote - although, having won the original ballot by 50% to 33%, they would be more than happy for the original result to stand.

'A big mess'

There is one thing that all sides agree on.

"It's a big mess", says Arthur Anderson, Supervisor of Elections in Palm Beach County.

"That's the only way to describe the situation. The state leadership and the national leadership are to blame. Once again here we are in this state with an election that's going to be inaccurate."

We spoke in a huge warehouse, where touch screen voting machines were being wheeled in from recent, local elections.

Barack Obama says poor families may miss out in a postal vote

Dr Anderson - who took up the post in 2005 - admits that he, himself, was confused by the 2000 ballot papers.

Palm Beach was the county which, in that election, introduced the world to the concept of "butterfly ballots" - those punch hole paper ballots, with their confusing "hanging" and "dimpled" chads - apparently arcane pieces of election trivia that suddenly became very important in the politically-charged Florida recount.

Those butterfly ballots have long since flown away.

Dr Anderson showed me the county's new voting machines, which electronically scan a hand written ballot paper and provide an all-important paper trail, as insurance against voter fraud.

They would not be used in any new Democratic primary, though. The machines will not be ready until after the end of primary season.

The 2000 election experience is making many Florida Democrats even more disconsolate about what is happening now.

Thomas Masters is mayor of Riviera Beach. During the disputed endgame of the Bush/Gore election, he invited the Reverend Jesse Jackson down to lead a march against disenfranchisement.

"History has a way of repeating itself," he told me, with a weary chuckle. "But I didn't realise it would repeat itself so quickly. We're still counting the votes from 2000."