U.S. GOVERNMENT | A resilient balance of institutions
03 March 2008
Texas Democrats Encouraged To Vote Twice
Voters will participate in primaries and caucuses on March 4
Washington -- Talking with voters in Texas February 28, former President Bill Clinton said, "Texas is the only place in America where you can vote twice in the same election without going to jail.''
Typically, laws prohibit Americans from voting more than once in the same election. But that restriction does not apply to Texas Democrats during the primaries. In fact, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton strongly are encouraging Texans to do just that.
Voters cast their ballot for their preferred candidate in Texas' primary, which is March 4. However, Texas is one of a few states that has "early voting" where voters have been able to cast ballots any time between February 19 and February 29 at designated polling places across the state.
This year will be the first time since 1968 that the Texas primary plays a role in determining the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, and voter turnout is already on pace to break records. More than four times as many voters have participated in early voting than participated in 2004.
Republicans will award their delegates based on the number of votes candidates receive in the primary, but Democrats will award only two-thirds of their delegates this way.
The remaining third are awarded after voters voice their preference for their candidates at caucuses, held just after the primary polls close on March 4. To participate in a caucus, which Texas Democrats also call a "precinct convention," one must have voted in the primary.
"This is a little confusing," Obama told supporters in Houston February 19. "You're going to have to do two things for me, now. Not only do you have to vote -- and we would prefer you to vote early -- but on Election Day … you're going to have to attend the caucus … to get us a few more delegates."
On Clinton's Web site, campaign staff explains that the combined primary-caucus system means that "Hillary needs your support twice on March 4."
IMPORTANT FOR CLINTON TO DO WELL MARCH 4, EXPERT SAYS
Voters in Vermont, Rhode Island and Ohio also head to the polls on March 4. Vermont and Rhode Island are among the smallest states in the country, and therefore do not award many delegates. But Ohio and Texas are among the most populous and award a large number of delegates.
Polls in these two states show the race between Clinton and Obama to be very close.
Clinton currently is trailing Obama by about 100 delegates and needs significant wins in Ohio and Texas to close the gap, Michael Barone, senior writer for U.S. News and World Report, told journalists at the Foreign Press Center in Washington February 27.
If Clinton loses Ohio and Texas, Barone said, Clinton would have to receive the votes of a large majority of superdelegates to win the nomination. (See "Superdelegates May Decide Democratic Nominee.")
It is likely, Barone said, that "if Clinton loses either Texas or Ohio, her campaign will effectively be over."
Even if Clinton wins these states, she probably will remain behind in the delegate count because Democrats award their delegates proportionally, meaning Obama would win a sizeable number of delegates on March 4 even if he finishes second.
Democrats in Wyoming and Mississippi also will hold primaries in March, but the next contest with a large number of delegates at stake is not until April 22, when Pennsylvania voters head to the polls.
