Be A Delegate to the 2012 Collin Co. Democratic Convention at the Plano Centre in Plano, Texas! (map)Any registered voter who signs an oath of affiliation with the Texas Democratic Party at convention check-in or during the convention may participate. To be a Delegate just check into the convention during registration from 8:00 am to 10:00 am on Saturday April 21 using your Voter Registration Card, Driver's License or other identification used for voting.
On March 1, the San Antonio U.S. District Court three-judge panel, which controls the state's interim redistricting maps and 2012 primary election schedule, issued an order that allows the Texas Democratic Party and Republican Party of Texas to hold their respective County/Senatorial District (SD) Conventions in April - before the Texas Primary Election that is now scheduled to occur on May 29.
In normal primary election years the state Democratic and Republican Parties conduct their respective SD/County conventions three weeks after primary election day and election precinct conventions, held immediately after the primary election.
Election precinct conventions normally kick off the three stage convention process by electing precinct delegates to attend the SD/County conventions. Delegates are then elected from the SD/County conventions to advance to each party's state conventions, which are held in early June. In presidential election years delegates from each party's state convention are selected to advance to the National Conventions to nominate each party's presidential candidates.
This year, drawn out court battles over the new redistricting maps have pushed primary election day from its usual first Tuesday in March date to Tuesday May 29. Since the Democratic and Republican Parties were already locked into holding their respective state conventions the weekend of June 9 - just over one week after the rescheduled primary date - they asked the San Antonio three-judge panel to issue an order allowing them to hold their respective SD/County conventions in April, five weeks before the primary election.
This year, the Texas Democratic Party convention and delegate selection process will skip preliminary Election Precinct Conventions and begin with County/Senatorial District Conventions on Saturday April 21, 2012.
This year, any registered voter who signs an oath of affiliation with the Texas Democratic Party at convention check or during the convention may participate in their County/Senatorial District Convention as a delegate. People who sign an oath of affiliation with the Texas Democratic Party -- which they would normally do when voting in the party's primary election -- cannot participate in another political party’s process, or vote in another party's primary election until after December 31, 2013, when the party affiliation cycle resets for the 2014 primary year.
From the Texas Delegate Selection Plan for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Issued by the Texas Democratic Party:
- Texas will use a proportional representation system based on the results of county/senatorial district conventions and a state convention for apportioning delegates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. This Plan allocates senatorial district level delegates based on the presidential preferences expressed by participants on sign-in sheets at the county/senatorial district conventions, and it allocates pledged party leader and elected official delegates and at-large delegates and alternates based on the presidential preference expressed by delegates on the sign-in sheets at the State Convention.
- The first determining step of Texas’ delegate selection process will occur on April 21, 2012, with the county/senatorial district conventions.
- Voter Participation in Process
- Participation in Texas’ delegate selection process is open to all voters who wish to participate as Democrats.
- Voter registration eligibility ends 30 days prior to the county/senatorial district conventions (March 22, 2012).
- Voters affiliate with the Democratic Party by signing an affidavit (oath) of affiliation when signing in at the county/senatorial district convention or at some other time in the current election cycle (Rules 2.A. & 2.C & Reg. 4.3).
- At no stage of Texas’ delegate selection process shall any person be required, directly or indirectly, to pay a cost or fee as a condition for participating. Voluntary contributions to the Party may be made, but under no circumstances shall a contribution be mandatory for participation (Rule 2.D. & Reg. 4.4.).
- No persons shall participate or vote in the nominating process for the Democratic presidential candidate who also participates in the nominating process of any other party for the corresponding elections (Rule 2.E.).
- Participation in Texas’ delegate selection process is open to all voters who wish to participate as Democrats.
The Texas Convention and Delegate Selection process will begin on April 21, 2012 with the County/Senatorial District conventions. There will be no precinct conventions.
