Obama's camp wary of mail-in redo in Mich.
Barack Obama's national campaign has "concerns" about a proposed vote-by-mail caucus and his Michigan chairman flatly condemned it Tuesday, taking the air from an idea that top Democrats hoped would resolve the impasse between the state and the national Democratic Party.
David Axelrod, Obama's senior strategist, said the campaign is reserving final judgment about write-in caucuses in Michigan and Florida -- both of which ran afoul of national party rules by holding January primaries that Hillary Clinton won -- until a plan is officially on the table. "But obviously there are concerns about a mail-in vote. I mean, there are concerns about eligibility, ballot security," he said.
"The state of Oregon has mail-in voting, and it took them more than a decade to perfect it to the point where they felt that they could run a statewide campaign through mail-in votes. And now we're going to turn this process over to parties within the states to run on with a matter of weeks to prepare."
The national party won't recognize Michigan's and Florida's convention delegates because their contests were held too early.
But the tight race between Clinton and Obama is creating interest in do-over contests that would meet the party's objections, and allow delegates from the two states to be seated this summer in Denver. A mail-in caucus is being floated by a blue-ribbon panel of Michigan Democrats, and Florida is considering one, too.
State Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, said a mail-in caucus "is clearly the wrong path.
"We don't like it one bit," Hunter said. "It disenfranchises people who need to participate and there are many questions with regard to security."
Hunter said the Obama campaign will accept nothing but a 50-50 split of Michigan delegates between Clinton and Obama, who removed his name from the January ballot here in protest of the early date.
Obama told CNN last night he has "some concerns" about vote by mail, but added of the Michigan-Florida quandary, "I'm sure it will get sorted out."
The Clinton camp favors do-overs.
East Lansing developer and Clinton supporter Joel Ferguson, said the vote-by-mail plan "can work if people want it to work. We're not reinventing the wheel. It's been tried in Oregon.
"Based on the time and situation, this is the best plan available."
Meanwhile, Governors Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania wrote in Tuesday's Washington Post that the Democratic National Committee should pay for new contests in Florida and Michigan.
"We'll even volunteer to help raise the funds," the two governors wrote. "If we don't pay now, we surely will in November."
The money piece is key for any successful repeat votes in Michigan and Florida.
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm welcomed the offer.
"It is generous of them, and we think it is great they are willing to step up and help raise the money," said Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd.
DNC rules require any redo to be conducted by June 10. It won't be easy to come up with the money for a do-over process that all sides can agree upon -- and to convince Democratic voters to buy into it.
For example, Donna Brown, a social worker from Detroit, says she voted for Clinton and is "disgusted" that her Jan. 15 vote isn't being counted.
"I won't vote in a do-over. This is all to help Barack Obama. If she's not on the ticket, I am not voting in November," Brown said.
Plans for redoing the contests by mail-in voting are moving quickly in Michigan and Florida.
Such intense feelings are erupting because of the closeness of the race and the possibility that a redo might determine the nominee.
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, who is part of the panel hoping within days to have a mail-in vote plan, estimates it would cost "several million dollars."
Florida officials expect a similar contest by mail would cost about $10 million.
Corzine and Rendell proposed raising money for the DNC to pay for it. The DNC is adamantly opposed to that idea.
DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said the national party is sticking to its position that it will not spend its money for redos.
"Right now, our focus is on getting proposals from the state parties for alternative contests consistent with our rules," LaVera said. "We've made clear our resources will be directed to keeping John McCain out of the White House."
Under federal election law, individuals can give $28,500 in one year to a national party. So if individuals contributed to the DNC for the redos in Florida and Michigan, that amount would count against their annual limit -- and thereby leave less money for the DNC to use against McCain.
Corzine and Rendell officials didn't return calls about whether the governors might set up a non-DNC money pot.
Michigan Democratic Party spokeswoman Liz Kerr said state law allows an unlimited amount of money to be given to pay for a redo.
Kerr said it would be "perfectly legal" for a group to raise money and give it to the Michigan Democratic Party to run another contest.
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damn, this is complicated.
The BarackStar! wants to just arbitrarily split the michigan delgates 50-50? hell, that's the equivalent of disenfranchising them; that approach certainly makes no attempt to determine the will of michigan voters. it's as arbitrary as a coin toss.
and as the candidate of unity and healing, The BarackStar! certainly doesn't seem to give a damn about unity in the cases of michigan and florida. their strategy is, if not to ignore the voters of both states entirely, to at least recognize them in such a way as render them as irrelevant to the nomination process as possible. "count every vote", indeed.
