Per discussion at the February meeting, Adam Mosher prepared this information for how the Pennsylvania Delegates are awarded:

PA DELEGATE EXPLANATION

Pennsylvania will send 188 Delegates and 26 Alternates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The majority of the delegation will be elected from each of PA’s 19 congressional districts.

District-level Delegates- PA will elect 103 District-level Delegates and 16 District-level Alternates. The more Democratic a Congressional District is, the more Delegates they get to elect. The 2nd Congressional District, in Philadelphia, will elect 9 District-level delegates. The 9th Congressional District, in south-central PA, will only elect 3 District-level delegates. Delegates are organized to reflect an equal split in gender in the PA delegation.
OUR District- The 11th Congressional District will send 5 District-level delegates and 1 District-level Alternate to the convention, 3 female Delegates, 2 Male Delegates, and a Male Alternate.

Proportionality- Under Democratic Party rules, candidates are awarded District-level Delegates based on the percentage of the vote they receive in the District’s primary election. If a candidate receives 15% of the vote or more, they are awarded delegates.
OUR District- Under this system, no candidate can will ALL of the delegates in a district. If a candidate won the 11th district 60% to 40% they would receive 3 of the 5 delegates. District’s that award an odd number of delegates receive more attention from the Presidential candidates since the delegates cannot be split evenly.

Superdelegates- PA will have 30 Unpledged Party Leaders and Elected Officials at the Convention, better known as Superdelegates. These Delegates consist of, Governor Rendell, Senator Casey, PA’s 11 Democratic Congressmen, The State Party Chair and Vice-Chair, PA’s 12 DNC Members: Rena Baumgartner, Anna Burger, Carol Ann Campbell, Ronald Donatucci, William M. George, Marcel Groen, Leon Lynch, Sophie Masloff, Gerald McEntee, Ian Murray, Evelyn Richardson, Ruth Rudy, PLUS 3 Superdelegates to be elected by the PA State Committee in June.

Pledged Party Leaders and Elected Officials (PLEO)- PA will have 20 Pledged PLEO’s at the convention. PLEO’s can include: big city mayors, state row officers, state legislators, and other state, local, and party officials. Pledged PLEO’s will be elected by the PA State Committee in June and will reflect the percentage each candidate received in the statewide vote.

At-Large Delegates and Alternates- PA will have 35 At-Large Delegates and 10 At-Large Alternates at the convention. At-Large positions are used to meet DNC criteria requiring fair representation based on gender, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and disability. At-Large Delegates will be elected by the PA State Committee in June and will reflect the percentage each candidate received in the statewide vote.

The full PA Delegate Selection Plan can be viewed at: http://padems.com/files/Delegate08Final806.pdf

Post edited by: Lee Nordling, at: 2008/03/06 08:40