As you may know the Michigan Democratic Party decided to disobey national party rules and move our primary up. The DNC had threatened to take away delegates from any state that tried to force the primaries sooner, after it became clear that the primary season could be forced into 2007. They also threatened sanctions against any candidate percieved to be campaigning in such a state. As a result your ballot in the Jan. 15 Michigan primary will offer 4 candidates: Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, and Mike Gravel. Sen. Barack Obama will not appear on the ballot. Neither will Fmr. Sen. John Edwards, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Chris Dodd has already withdrawn from the presidential race, but his name will appear on the ballot because of printing deadlines.
Further, regardless of who the winner is, the DNC currently says Michigan will not have voting delegates at the convention. However, they may (and likely will) change the rules if the convention looks like it's going to be bedlam.
I am for the moment assuming that you are not a Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, or Mike Gravel supporter. If that is the case you have a number of options. I'd like to explain what those options are, and why voting "uncommitted" is, I believe, the best option.
Vote for one of the candidates on the ballot
You are certainly entitled to vote for one of the candidates on the Democratic ballot. I would encourage you to not do this because the candidate who wins the primary will likely have delegates sent to the nominating convention on their behalf. You will be helping to elect a candidate you do not believe in, and in effect voting against your candidate.
Issue a write-in vote
The State of Michigan requires all write-in candidates to approve their write-in status. None have done so. Net result: IF YOU CAST A WRITE-IN BALLOT, IT WILL NOT COUNT!
Vote as a Republican
The net effect of a Democrat voting in the GOP primary is the same as if you had not voted at all: You're denying your party a vote. Whomever wins the primary will have a larger margin of victory due to low turn-out.
Vote "Uncommitted"
If you vote uncommitted in the primary you are not saying you don't have an opinion. You're saying "I don't like any of the candidates on my ballot." If "uncommitted" garners enough support, uncommitted delegates would be sent to the nominating convention. These delegates could vote for whomever they see fit. Particularly if you don't want Sen. Clinton to win the nomination, a large vote of "uncommitted" would be a MAJOR dissappointment. If Sen. Clinton were to lose the Michigan primary to "uncommitted" the story would be that a plurality of Michigan Democrats feel she is NOT the right candidate. That inevitability facade would be cracked.
Of course you're free to do as you please, but know that realistically the Michigan primary comes down to (1) Hillary Clinton, or (2) Not Hillary Clinton. I wish it weren't so, but that is the case. And please, no matter who you vote for, VOTE!
Thanks for reading,
Seth Kramer
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