A Fair Way to Have Michigan Delegates at the Democratic Convention
Citizen Op-Ed

First, Let us not forget that we as Americans all have the Right to vote as confirmed in the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, the agreement established by the Democratic National Committee denying Michigan Delegates to vote for the President at the Democratic National Conference was flawed because it was in conflict with several sections of the Constitution and the “Spirit” of our Founding Fathers.

Now the issue is how do we provide representation for our Michigan Delegates? The fair way, naturally, would be to have a new primary in order that we can obtain the wishes of the people of the State of Michigan. Let us also not forget that many people did not vote in the January 15, 2008 primary due to the fact that they were told that it would not be counted. The main problem with having a new primary is the financial cost involved. Some have estimated that it could be around $10 million dollars. The State of Michigan has stated that such funds are not in the budget and the Democratic National Committee has stated that such funds should be used towards the presidential election.

One simple solution is to just have the Michigan Delegates be divided 50/50 between Obama and Clinton. However, another solution is to look for a day in the future when a few other primaries have had the opportunity to vote. First let us call this plan the “Fair Michigan Delegate Plan” ( or The Roberson Plan ). Let us pick a day in the future such as May 9th as the cut-off date wherein we will compute the National Popular Vote for all of the previous primaries and caucuses in all states and territories. Whatever the percentage split between Obama and Clinton at this time should be the split for the Michigan Delegation. For example, if at this time ( May 9th ), nationally 50 million have voted for Clinton and 48 million for Obama then the Michigan Delegation should be represented by 51% for Clinton and 49% for Obama.

The Advantages of the “Fair Michigan Delegate Plan” are as follows:

1. No need to find funding of $10 million dollars or more for a primary
2. We avoid the complexities of establishing voting procedures and facilities
3. We eliminate the possibilities of fraud and manipulations
4. Michiganders will be represented at the Democratic National Convention
5. The fact that we would be selecting a day in the future, in which no one would know the National Popular vote split, it would therefore make it fair to both the Obama and Clinton campaigns.

Please be aware that between Now and May 9th , we have 4 additional primaries in the future -- Pennsylvania on April 22, Guam on May 3rd and Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th.

We MUST have fair representation for Michiganders at the Democratic Convention. The disenfranchisement of millions of American citizens must not stand. And finally, America must not tarnish its Heritage as the cornerstone of true democracy.

L. R. Roberson
Southfield, Michigan