South Carolina Democratic Primary Delegate Selection Process
The 2008 Democratic National Convention will be August 25-28 in Denver. The first step in SC's delegate selection process is the Presidential Primary on January 26, which will determine which presidential candidates are entitled to delegates from SC. You must vote in order to run for delegate.
The second step is the Democratic Precinct Meetings at 10 a.m. on February 23. Those meetings elect delegates and alternates to the County Democratic Conventions, which will be held between March 6 and March 20. At your County Convention, you can run for delegate or alternate to the S.C. State Democratic Convention on May 3. You must be elected at every level to be a national delegate.
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention will be elected by the delegates at the State Convention. To vote, a participant at the State Convention must sign a pledge of support for a presidential candidate. Only pledged supporters of a particular candidate may vote for that candidate's delegates.
There will be 54 delegates from South Carolina, in several categories, plus 8 Alternates:
8 Unpledged Delegates (automatic-not elected at the State Convention)
SC's members of Congress and members of the Democratic National Committee.
May commit to a candidate, but do not have to.
29 Congressional District Delegates
Chosen at Congressional District caucuses at the State Convention.
Awarded to presidential candidates based on their percentage of the primary vote in the District:
1st CD: 4 Delegates
2nd CD: 5 Delegates
3rd CD: 4 Delegates
4th CD: 4 Delegates
5th CD: 6 Delegates
6th CD: 6 Delegates
No more than half the delegates from a Congressional District may be from any one county.
All Districts combined must be equally divided between men and women.
6 Party Leader and Elected Official Delegates
Must be county or state Democratic Party officers or elected officials at any level.
Divided among presidential candidates based on their percentage of the statewide Primary vote.
Elected by all the state convention delegates pledged to each candidate.
10 At-Large Delegates
Divided among the presidential candidates based on their percentage of the statewide Primary vote.
Elected by all the state convention delegates pledged to each candidate.
One Unpledged Add-On Delegate
Can be a supporter of any candidate, or may be uncommitted.
Elected by all the state convention delegates.
8 Alternates, elected like the At-Large Delegates, divided among the candidates the same way and equally divided between men and women.
*Candidates must receive 15% of the vote in a CD or at the statewide level to receive delegates from that level.
You also should know:
Delegates and Alternates must be equally divided between men and women.
The delegate selection process is open to all Democrats who are registered voters. The SC Democratic Party encourages participation by members of groups that are underrepresented in party affairs, including African Americans, Hispanics, ethnics, youth, those over 65, gay men and lesbians, persons with physical disabilities, and persons of low and moderate income.
Our goal is to elect a delegation that is at least 50% African American, as well as at least 3 GLBT delegates and 5 who are under 30. The election of At-Large delegates may be used to reach this goal.
To run for delegate (except for the Add-On slot), you must file with the State Party by April 4. (Filing forms will be available from the Party or on the web at www.scdp.org.)
A few counties require you to file in order to run for delegate or alternate to the State Convention.
Presidential candidates have the right to approve everyone running for their delegate slots. This helps insure that a candidate's strongest supporters are chosen to go to the Convention.
Delegates and alternates are responsible for their own expenses. The first meeting of the Delegation will be May 10 in Columbia.
This is a summary of the rules-some important technicalities are not covered.
