Delegate Candidate Information and Application Democratic Party of Georgia Prepared by: Ansley Tuten PAID FOR BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF GEORGIA PO BOX 20442 ATLANTA, GA 30325 NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE S COMMITTEE WWW.GEORGIADEMS.ORG PRINTED IN HOUSE
A Message from our Chairman Thank you for your interest in becoming a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention! On September 3, 2012, Democrats from across the nation will gather in Charlotte, NC to celebrate the Party s nomination of President Barack Obama for re-election to our nation s highest office. This convention will culminate on September 6 th, when President Obama addresses the Delegates and accepts our Party s nomination for President of the United States. The state of Georgia will send 124 Delegates and 9 alternates to Charlotte. This manual is meant to outline the process by which a registered voter may become one of these Delegates. The process for becoming a Delegate is highly competitive and democrats from all over Georgia will be competing for those positions. The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia are dedicated to ensuring that everyone who is qualified to run has that opportunity. We are also committed to making sure that Georgia s delegation adequately represents our State s diverse population. We are eager to share with you the process of becoming a Delegate and stand ready to answer any and all questions you may have. The process can seem a bit complicated, but we are here to help make it as straightforward as possible. If you have any questions, please contact your Congressional District Chair or Democratic Party of Georgia County Affairs Director, Ansley Tuten. Democratically yours, Mike Berlon Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia
The Georgia Delegation-How Many Delegates Do We Have? Georgia will elect 124 Delegates and 9 alternates to represent our State at the Democratic National Convention. 72 of these Delegates (about 75% of the total delegation) will be elected at the District-Level Delegate Caucuses to be held in each Congressional District across the state on Saturday April 21, 2012. In addition to these Delegates, 24 At-large Delegates, plus 9 additional Alternates will be elected by our State Committee members on May 19, 2012 in Macon, GA. 14 Delegate spots are reserved for those considered Party Leaders and Elected Officials, commonly referred to as PLEOs. These PLEO delegates will be elected at a separate election that will be held by our State Committee Members on May 12, 2012. In additional to PLEO delegates, Georgia s delegation will include At-Large delegates. Any Democrat is eligible to run as an At-Large delegate including candidates who ran unsuccessfully at the Congressional District level. Gender Equity and Priority of Consideration The DNC mandates that each delegation brought to the Democratic National Convention contain an equal number of men and women. In this spirit, district-level Delegate caucuses must elect a pre-determined number of men and women in each district. The break-down of Delegates to be elected in each district is as follows: District # of male Delegates # of female Delegates Total # of Delegates 1 3 2 5 2 2 3 5 3 3 3 6 4 4 3 7 5 3 4 7 6 3 2 5 7 3 3 6 8 2 3 5 9 2 2 4 10 3 2 5 11 2 3 5 12 3 2 5 13 3 4 7 TOTAL 36 36 72
Additionally, the DPG is committed to electing a delegation that is representative of the state of Georgia. The DPG has set its diversity goals based on the voting population of Democrats in the state of Georgia. These goals are as followed: African Americans Hispanic Americans Native Americans Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders LGBT Americans People with Disabilities Seniors 65+ Youth Under 30 % of Democratic electorate 62.8% 1.6% undetermined 1.2% 5.9% 11.9% 15.7% 17.8% Numeric Goals for Delegation 78 2 1 1 7 15 19 22 These are not mandates; they are goals which we will make every effort to achieve. In the election of At-large and alternate Delegates, priority of consideration shall be given to candidates who belong to these groups. Financial Obligations of Becoming a Member of the Georgia Delegation The cost of attending the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte as a Delegate will range from $2000-$4000. Delegates will be responsible for all costs associated with attending the convention which include, but are not limited to: hotel accommodations, travel and food. The costs associated with the convention reduce if a Delegate chooses to share a room with another Delegate. Delegates may also fundraise independently to help cover the cost of convention. Under no circumstances will the National or State Democratic Parties be held responsible for any costs associated with individual Delegates. Potential Delegate candidates must sign a waiver acknowledging this statement before they are eligible to run for a Delegate spot. Qualifying to be a Delegate Candidate Anyone wishing to run to be a Delegate must meet the following criteria: Be a registered voter in the district in which they intend to run Fill out the candidacy application and candidates party declaration and Presidential preference form located on the Georgia Democrats website, www.georgiadems.org, or at the conclusion of this manual.
These forms must be filled out and sent to the DPG offices no later than March 22, 2012 for those wishing to be a candidate at the District level. Candidates wishing to run for a PLEO, At-large or Alternate Delegate spot must submit these forms no later than April 26, 2012Forms may be submitted: Electronically, by emailing signed copies of these forms to mike@georgiademocrat.org By fax, to the attention of Mike Berlon at 877-744-9438 By mail, to the attention of Mike Berlon at PO BOX 20442, Atlanta, GA 30325. Mailed candidate affidavits must be postmarked by March 22, 2012 By hand-delivery, to the Democratic Party of Georgia Headquarters, located at 763 Trabert Ave. Atlanta, GA 30318. Presidential Right of Review After all of our candidates have submitted their candidate application and candidates party declaration and Presidential preference form, each candidate will be submitted to the presidential campaign for review. If a candidate is stricken from the list by a presidential campaign, he or she may not be elected as a delegate or alternate at that level pledged to that candidate. How is the Georgia Delegation Elected? There are two methods by which a registered voter may be elected to serve as a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Delegates are elected by their congressional districts in district-level caucuses, or can be elected by the Democratic Party of Georgia s State Committee. District-Level Delegate Caucuses Each of the Democratic Party of Georgia s Congressional District Chairs has selected a central location in their congressional district to serve as a site for the District-Level Delegate Caucuses, to be held Saturday April 21, 2012 at 8am. Voting will begin promptly at 12pm and no other electors will be permitted to cast ballots if they have not registered by the beginning of voting. The contact information for our 13 Congressional District Chairs can be found here: Congressional District Chair Contact Information 1 Jeana Brown jeana@georgiademocrat.org 912-294-3167
2 Kattie Kendrick Kjvrainier1@yahoo.com 478-825-2985 3 George Johnson gjohnson@melvillejohnson.com 678-358-4655 4 Acting Chair: Rep. Billy Mitchell billymitchell@bellsouth.net 770-465-8800 5 Catherine Smith catherineatlanta@gmail.com 678-596-1845 6 Ben Myers benmyers@ibew613.org 770-570-8981 7 Steve Reily sreilly@amrslaw.com 404-277-4784 8 Stephanie Woods-Miller taylormillerlaw@yahoo.com 478-787-9729 9 David Robinson gdavidrobinson@gmail.com 770-893-9134 10 Patsy Harris patsydudney@yahoo.com 706-342-1011 11 Don Wilson Don.e.wilson@att.net 678-334-8050 12 Liz Johnson Lizjohnson12th@gmail.com 912-541-1237 13 Melissa Prescott-Crawford justicecosts@gmail.com 678-462-8270 Method of Election Registration for the District-level Delegate caucuses will begin at 8 am on Saturday April 21, 2012. Anyone registered to vote in the congressional district in which they intend to caucus may cast a vote for Delegate candidates. Registration will close at exactly 12 pm and no other electors will be permitted to cast votes for Delegate candidates. Anyone in line, but has not completed the registration process by 12pm will be allowed to register and cast a vote for their preferred Delegate candidates. Candidates are allowed two minutes to address the audience, and are not permitted to have a nominating or seconding speech. Ballots will be distributed and voters may vote for a number of candidates equal to the number of Delegates to be elected from the district. For example, the first congressional district has been allotted three male and two female Delegates, so voters may select up to three male and two female candidates. Anyone who is registered to vote, is willing to sign a statement of support for the Democratic Party, and resides in the district in which they are intending to vote is permitted
to cast a ballot at the District-Level Delegate Caucus. Each candidate may encourage their supporters to attend the caucus and cast a vote for them. The highest vote-getter, regardless of gender, is seated first. The next highest vote getter of the opposite gender is seated second, and the seating alternates by gender until all of the Delegate seats have been filled. Due to gender equity requirements, this method of seating Delegates may result in a candidate being chosen to be a member of the Georgia Delegation who received fewer votes than a candidate of the opposite gender. PLEO Delegates PLEO (Party Leader and Elected Official) Delegates are Georgians who hold political office within the state, or serve in leadership within a political organization. These Delegates could include: state legislators, big city mayors or municipal officers, and other state, county and local elected officials or party leaders. Georgia s 14 PLEO Delegate spots will be voted on by a special meeting of the State Committee, to be held on May 12, 2012 in Atlanta, GA. The deadline to submit your candidacy as a PLEO delegate is April 26, 2012. At-large and Alternate Delegates Individuals wishing to run for Delegate at large, including unsuccessful Delegate candidates at the district-level must submit the appropriate candidate forms outlined on the Georgia Delegate Candidate Check-list of this manual by April 26, 2012. Unsuccessful Delegate candidates at the district-level must re-submit these forms to be considered a candidate for an At-large Delegate spot. Delegates will be elected by a special meeting of the Democratic Party of Georgia s State Committee to be held in Macon, GA on May 19, 2012. Only State Committee Members will be allowed to vote for these Delegate candidates. At-large and alternate Delegates are also subject to review by presidential campaigns.
Georgia Delegate Candidate Check-list To complete the Georgia Delegate Application Process, the mandatory forms listed below must be submitted by the appropriate District-level (March 22, 2012) or At-large (April 26, 2012) application deadline. Georgia Delegate Candidate Application Georgia Delegate Candidates Party Declaration and Presidential Preference Form Please submit these forms to PO Box 20442, Atlanta, GA 30325 ATTN: Delegate Selection, by email to mike@georgiademocrat.org or by fax to 877-744-9438 Dates to Remember: Varies March 6, 2012 March 22, 2012 April 14, 2012 April 21, 2012 April 26, 2012 May 12, 2012 May 12, 2012 May 15, 2012 May 19, 2012 Georgia Delegate Training Workshops by Congressional District Presidential Preference Primary District-level Delegate Candidate Application Deadline DPG receives list of approved Delegate candidates District-level Delegate Caucuses At-large, Alternate, and PLEO Delegate Candidate Application Deadline DPG receives list of approved Delegate candidates PLEO Delegate election- Atlanta, GA Deadline for unsuccessful PLEO candidates to submit candidacy to run for At-Large Delegate At-large Delegate election- Macon, GA Please contact your Congressional District Chair or DPG County Affairs Director with any questions that you may have.
Georgia Delegate Candidate Application Please complete this form in order to declare your candidacy as a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention. All portions of this form must be completed. Complete Name: Occupation: Congressional District: Complete Address: Phone Number: Alternative Phone Number: Email Address: For security clearance purposes Social Security Number: Date of Birth: Please Check all that Apply: Gender: Male Female Ethnicity: African American Asian-Pacific Caucasian Latino Native American Age: Youth (18-29) Middle Aged (30-60) Senior Citizen (60 and above) Orientation: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Heterosexual Disability: Yes, please describe: Party Leadership or Elected Positions: Receipt of this Statement of Intent certifies that I, officially intend to seek election as a Georgia Delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. X X I understand that the Presidential Candidates have the right to approve or disapprove of my candidacy. I understand that if elected, I am financially responsible for all Delegate related expenses, including: travel, lodging, meals, registration fees, etc. I hereby declare my candidacy as a (please select all that apply) District Level PLEO At-Large Alternate Georgia Delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. / / Print Complete Name Signature Date
Georgia Delegate Candidates Party Declaration and Presidential Preference Form Please complete this Candidates Party Declaration to officially declare your Party affiliation and your preferred Presidential candidate. All portions of this form must be completed. Complete Name: Congressional District: Email Address: Preferred Presidential Candidate: Receipt of this Party Declaration Form certifies that I,, am resident and registered to vote in the Congressional District, located in County, GA. My initials signify and proclaim that the below statements are true and accurate: X I believe in the goals of the Democratic Party of Georgia X I am not a member of any other political party or body (as defined in the Georgia election code) X I am not affiliated with any political group whose ideas, goals, and methods are incompatible with that of the Democratic Party of Georgia (as identified by the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia). X If it is found that I have submitted this Party Declaration under false pretenses, I am subject to immediate disqualification as a Georgia Delegate or Alternate Delegate. I meet all qualifications and hereby declare my candidacy as a Georgia Delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. / / Print Complete Name Signature Date