1. How to be a Delegate to the
2012 Democratic
National Convention
An overview
of Florida’s
2012 Delegate
Selection Process

2. What is the Democratic National Convention?
• Held every four years
• Delegates from all 50
states and American
territories
• Nominate and confirm
the Party’s candidate
for President and
Vice President “This convention is… about Americans coming together to
commit ourselves and our country to a path that creates
• Adopt a Party Platform more opportunity.”
• Unify and celebrate - The Democratic National Convention
Committee
the Democratic Party

3. What is the Role of a Convention Delegate?
• Attend the 2012
Democratic National
Convention in Charlotte
September 3-6.
• Vote for the Presidential
and Vice Presidential
Nominee.
• Approve the 2012 DNC
Platform.
• Establish the
The National Convention is an exciting and rules to
unforgettable experience. Attendees will govern the
make memories that will last a lifetime. Democratic
Party.

4. Who Can be a Delegate?
• Any Florida Democratic voter
can run to be a delegate
• Each elected delegate will
sign a pledge of support for
his or her presidential
candidate
• Delegates will be evenly
divided between men and
women Delegates will experience firsthand the energy in the
• The Florida Democratic Party convention hall as the Party selects its nominees for
President and Vice President.
encourages participation by
members of groups
historically underrepresented
in Party activities.

5. The Four Delegate Types
District-Level
Elected through a two-tier caucus system:
• The first tier caucuses will be held at the county level on May 5 to elect State
Convention delegates.
• The second tier caucuses will be held at the State Convention on June 2 to elect
National Convention District-Level delegates.
Pledged Party Leader and Elected Official (PLEO)
• Big city mayors, state legislative leaders, state legislators, and other state, county, and
local elected officials and party leaders.
At-Large
• Elected by the District-Level delegates at the State Delegate Selection Convention.
• May be used to achieve Affirmative Action goals.
Unpledged (Automatic)
• Democratic Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and
the U.S. Senate.
• Members of the Democratic National Committee.
• Former DNC Chair.

6. Delegation Overview
Florida has a total of 300 delegates and 23 alternates
District-Level
• 184 Delegates
At-Large
Pledged Party Leaders & (20%)
Elected Officials (PLEO)
• 31 Delegates PLEO
District-
Level
(10%)
At-Large (62%)
• 61 Delegates
• 23 Alternates Unpledged
(8%)
Unpledged (Automatic)
• 24 Delegates (Democratic
Members of Congress, DNC
Members & Former DNC Chair)

7. Dates to Keep in Mind
Date Description
March 9 Filing begins for State Convention delegate candidates
April 27 Filing ends for State Convention delegate candidates
May 5 County Caucuses
May 5 Filing begins for National Convention delegate candidates
May 10 Filing ends for National District-Level delegate candidates
June 1 State Delegate Selection Convention begins in Tampa
June 2 State delegates caucus by CD & elect District-Level delegates
District-Level delegates meet & elect statewide delegates
June 3 All delegates meet to elect Standing Committee Members
Sept 3-6 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

8. Florida’s 2012 Democratic Delegate Selection Process
Pledged Delegates and Alternates Unpledged Delegates
COUNTY State Convention Democratic
CAUCUSES (67) Delegates (1,500 total Members of
Saturday, May 5 elected from each Congress (6)
10 am - 2 pm county by Cong. Dist.)
Dem. National
Committee
STATE DELELGATE SELECTION CONVENTION Members (17)
Tampa
June 1-3
Distinguished
Former Party
Leaders (1)
Congressional District
All Delegate Meeting
Caucuses (25)
Sunday, June 3 (10 am)
Saturday, June 2 (9 am)
Standing
Committee
District-Level
Members (27)
Delegates (184)
Party Leader &
Elected Official
Delegates (31)
District-Level Delegate Meeting Florida’s
Saturday, June 2 (1:30 pm)
At-Large National
Delegates (61) & Convention
Alternates (23)
Delegation

9. First Step – County Caucuses on May 5
• Our selection process begins with
caucuses held in each county.
• Caucuses are “party-run primaries”
where Democratic voters cast their
vote for President and elect
delegates to the State Delegate
Selection Convention.

10. County Democratic Caucuses – May 5
Who Can Vote?
• All Democratic voters may vote in their county’s
Democratic Caucus on May 5. (Florida has 67 counties.)
• Voting is done by Congressional District (CD) within each
county.
• Each voter indicates their presidential
preference and then receives a ballot for
state convention delegate candidates in
that CD.
• Like in any primary, a voter marks his/her
ballot and places it in the ballot box and
leaves.

11. County Democratic Caucuses – May 5
Who Can Run for Delegate?
• Any Democrat can run to be one of 1,500 delegates
elected by counties to attend the State Delegate
Selection Convention.
• All delegates to the State Convention must be elected
(no automatic or appointed delegates).
• Individuals qualify to run by filing an
application with the county party between
March 9 and April 27.
• Each county has been allotted a number of
State Convention delegates based on the
county’s Democratic voting strength.

12. State Delegate Selection Convention – Overview
• 1,500 delegates elected at the May 5
County Caucuses will meet in
Tampa, June 1-3.
• State Convention delegates will meet
by Congressional District on June 2 to
elect 184 District-Level delegates to the
National Convention.
• Individuals elected as District-Level
delegates will elect the PLEO & At-Large
delegates and alternates.
• All delegates will meet on June 3 to
elect standing committee members.

13. District-Level Delegates
• Largest and first group of National Convention delegates
elected are the District-Level delegates.
• Elected at Congressional District caucuses held during the
State Delegate Selection Convention.
• Florida has 184 District-Level delegates (nearly 2/3 of the
delegation).
• Only delegates to the State Convention may run for a District-
Level delegate position.
• Delegates are allocated to presidential candidates
based on the presidential vote within the CD as
taken during the County Caucuses.
• Delegate positions are equally divided between
men and women.

14. District-Level Delegate Qualifications
Who Can Run for District-Level Delegate?
• Candidates for District-Level delegate must be elected at the
County Caucus as a State Convention delegate.
• Candidates must file the National Convention delegate
application with the State Party between May 5 and May 10.
• District-Level delegate positions have been allocated to each
of Florida’s current 25 CD’s based on Democratic voting
strength.
• District-Level delegate candidates will campaign
among and be elected by the State Convention
delegates from their respective Congressional
District.

15. PLEO Delegates
• Florida has 31 delegates elected as Party Leader and
Elected Official (PLEO) delegates.
• Only Democratic Party leaders or elected officials are
eligible to run for a PLEO delegate position.
• PLEO delegates are elected by the District-Level delegates
at the State Convention on Saturday afternoon, June 2.
• PLEO delegates are allocated to presidential
candidates based on the statewide
presidential vote taken during the County
Caucuses.

16. PLEO Delegate Qualifications
Who Can Run for Party Leader & Elected Official Delegate?
• Only Democratic Party leaders or elected officials may
run for PLEO delegate positions.
• The term “PLEO” includes: big city mayors, state
legislative leaders, state legislators, and other state,
county, and local elected officials and party leaders.
• Individuals qualify to run by filing an
application with the State Party between
May 5 and noon on June 2.
• If an individual is elected as a District-Level
delegate he/she is ineligible to run for PLEO
delegate.

17. At-Large Delegates & Alternates
• Florida has 61 delegates and 23 alternates elected at the
At-Large level.
• At-Large delegates and alternates will be elected by the
District-Level delegates at the State Convention on Saturday
afternoon.
• Delegates and alternates are allocated to presidential
candidates based on the statewide presidential vote taken
during the County Caucuses.
• At-Large delegates ensure the total number of
delegates is equally divided between men and
women and that the delegation reflects the
overall demographic composition of Florida’s
Democratic electorate.

18. At-Large Delegate & Alternate Qualifications
Who Can Run for At-Large Delegate and/or Alternate?
• Any Florida Democratic voter may run for an At-Large
delegate and/or alternate position.
• Individuals qualify to run by filing an application with the
State Party between May 5 and noon on June 2.
• An individual elected as a District-Level or PLEO delegate
is ineligible to run for an At-Large position.
• At-Large delegates will be elected first and
then alternates.

19. Equal Division
• A basic tenet of the Democratic Party is to have an equal
division between men and women at all levels of the Party.
• Each state’s delegation must be equally divided between men
and women.
• Delegates, alternates, and standing committee members are
considered separate groups for purposes of equal division.
• District-Level delegates must be equally divided:
• within each Congressional District,
• between each presidential candidate, and
• as a whole (total District-Level delegates).
• At-Large positions are used to ensure the delegates
and the alternates are equally divided.

20. Affirmative Action, Outreach & Inclusion
• Under Democratic Party rules each state sets diversity
goals as part of an ongoing effort to specifically include
groups historically underrepresented in the Party’s affairs.
• The Florida Democratic Party conducted a study and
analysis of our Democratic electorate and established
diversity goals for delegates, alternates and standing
committee members.
• The FDP Affirmative Action Committee assists
the Party with outreach and education efforts.
• The Obama Campaign has committed to working
closely with the State Party to ensure that
Florida’s National Convention delegation looks
like Florida’s Democratic electorate.

21. Affirmative Action, Outreach & Inclusion Goals
Asian Americans
African Americans Hispanics Native Americans
& Pacific Islanders
% in Democratic
28% 13% <.5% 1%
Electorate
Numeric Goals for
84/6 39/3 2/0 3/0
Dels / Alts
People with
LGBT Americans Youth (18-34) Veterans Small Counties
Disabilities
12% 10% 24% 3% 13%*
36/3 30/2 72/6 9/1 22
*(Small counties represent 13.394% of the State Convention delegates.)
• Some individuals fall into two or more of the outreach categories.
• Many delegates will represent other Democratic constituencies not listed
above.
• Each county Democratic Party must make every effort to ensure its delegates
to the State Delegate Selection Convention represent the composition and
diversity of the Democratic Party in that county.
• Outreach to ALL Democratic Party constituencies is required for this
process.

22. General Provisions
• Any Democrat can run to be a delegate to the State Delegate Selection
Convention and the Democratic National Convention.
• Discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, creed, national
origin, religion, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, economic status or
physical disability is prohibited.
• No person shall be required, directly or indirectly, to pay a cost or fee
as a condition for participating. Voluntary contributions may be made.
• There are no automatic or appointed delegates to the State Delegate
Selection Convention (all delegates are elected).
• Any individual or group of Democrats may sponsor or
endorse a slate of candidates for convention delegates.
No slate may receive a preferential place on the ballot
or be publicly identified on the ballot as the official
slate.
• Proxy voting is prohibited.

23. Presidential Right of Review
• Delegates are allocated to presidential candidates based on the results
of the vote conducted at County Caucuses and delegate candidates
sign a “pledge” to support the presidential candidate they wish to
represent at the State and National Conventions.
• Under National Party rules, presidential candidates have the right to
review the list of individuals running to represent them as their
delegates at the National Convention.
• Presidential candidates have the right to remove names
from the list of delegate candidates. At the District-Level,
they can strike down to 3 names for each delegate
position. At the PLEO and At-Large levels, they can strike
down to 1 name for each position.
• A delegate candidate removed from the list by a
presidential campaign at one level may file to run at a
subsequent level for delegate and/or alternate.

24. General Tips About Running for Delegate
• Everyone interested in running for delegate (state and/or
national) should review the 2012 Delegate Selection Plan
available from the FDP at www.fladems.com.
• All delegate candidates (state and national) should work
closely with the campaign of their presidential candidate.
• Running for delegate is like a mini-campaign. You must
get out your vote and build support for your election.
• Ask your friends to attend the county caucus to
vote for you.
• Recruit your friends to run for delegate.
• Build relationships with delegates in your CD
from other counties.

25. Standing Committee Members
• The National Convention has 3 Standing Committees:
• Credentials (seating of delegates)
• Platform (Party’s issue statement)
• Rules (convention administration)
• Florida has nine members on each committee (27 total) who are
nominated by the presidential campaign(s).
• Standing Committee members will be elected by the National
Convention delegates at a meeting in Tampa on Sunday, June 3.
• Members do not need to be delegates and will attend
the National Convention.
• Members are equally divided and reflect affirmative
action/inclusion goals.
• Members are allocated to presidential candidates
based on the statewide vote at the County Caucuses.

26. What is the Schedule for Charlotte?
• Monday, September 3: Family-
friendly Labor Day event at
Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Tuesday, September 4, and
Wednesday, September 5: The
convention’s opening session
and convention proceedings at
Time Warner Cable Arena.
• Thursday September 6: The
President will accept the
nomination at Bank of America
Stadium.

27. What are the Convention Costs?
• Delegates and Alternates are
responsible for cost of travel and
hotel (hotel rooms can be
shared).
• Breakfast is provided.
• Ground transportation between
hotel and events is provided.
• Delegates can fundraise to help
cover expenses.

28. Fundraising Ideas
• Send a fundraising letter to your
family members and friends
through US mail or email.
• Work with your local County Party
and/or Democratic Club/Caucus
to hold a fundraising event.
• Ask your employer to sponsor you.
• Create a free fundraising website.
• Use social networking sites such as
Facebook and Twitter.

29. Florida’s Time to Shine!
Delegate filing
forms for the state
convention and the
national convention
are available on the
Florida Democratic Party’s website at www.fladems.com or by
phone at 850-222-3411.

30. For More Information
For additional information
about the 2012 Democratic
National Convention:
• www.democrats.org
• charlottein2012.com
• www.demconvention.com
Florida Democratic Party
www.fladems.com
850-222-3411