florida’s magical world of voting
by Ian Schuldt
Published: March 12, 2008
So apparently Florida and Michigan want there votes to count for some reason. I don’t blame them. Who wouldn’t? Of course if I wanted my vote to count, that would probably be something I would have thought of…oh I don’t know - BEFORE I broke the rules.
I don’t think there’s a state in the union that wouldn’t like to have their primary first. All the attention that is usually paid to Iowa and New Hampshire is enough to make any state jealous, but the reality is someone has to be first. Without rules to decide the order in which states vote, every state would be jousting for position every four years to get their vote date one day earlier, until the first primary would be the day after inauguration. We’ve been at this for months now already; the last thing we need is to drag it out further.
Alright fine, what about a revote? Unfortunately while that may sound great it doesn’t really work for a couple reasons. The first is the same reason that television networks don’t release exit polling data until all the polls for a state are closed. When people believe they know the out come before it actually happens it can effect their decision to vote, or possibly even who to vote for.
The second reason is because Barack Obama respected the decision of the DNC the first time around, and Hillary did not. Because Hillary Clinton pandered to the people of Florida and Michigan, even though she wasn’t supposed to, it gives her a clear strategic advantage in a revote.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for everyone getting a vote, and there are some rules that were meant to be broken. If the super delegates overrule the people’s decision this year I’ll be as irate as anyone. But these rules were set up in an effort to try and bring some sense of order and fairness to the primary process. Without them, it turns into a middle school lunch line.
Rewarding Michigan and Florida for trying to cut in line now doesn’t help anything. It simply reinforces the idea that you can ignore the rules all day long, but if you cry about it long enough you’ll still get your way.
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