As early voting starts here in Texas, we’re throwing it back to one of the many events in our country’s democratic process that got us to this point – the Democratic National Convention.
As (I hope) you know, each political party has a nominating process for who will represent them in the race for the Presidency. At the national conventions of these parties, delegates casts their votes. It differs from state-to-state, but for the most part, delegates are bound to cast their votes for a certain candidate. This is based on the popular vote in their state (This is how we knew Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nominee before the convention happened).
In June at the Texas Democratic Convention, I was elected as a National Delegate (pledged to Hillary Clinton). Below is a summary of the process and the National Convention.
Process of becoming a National Delegate
How the heck do you get to be a National Delegate to the DNC? I had no idea until a few months ago.
How I did it:
- Attended my County Convention
- Selected from my precinct as a delegate to the State Convention
- Filed paperwork to run for National Delegate
- Set up my website and began campaigning (making calls, sending emails, gathering support)
- Attended the Texas Democratic Convention, campaigned some more
- During my Senate District caucus votes were casted and collected
The available national delegate positions are distributed based on how populous the Senate District is, and how the primary vote was distributed between the Democratic Presidential candidates.
My Senate District had 6 delegate slots, 4 for Hillary Clinton and 2 for Bernie Sanders.
Attributing for gender balance, women received 2 Hillary Clinton slots and 1 Bernie Sanders slot. I ran against 17 other women for one of the Hillary Clinton slots and (5.) was one of the top two vote-getters.
The Convention
The experience in Philadelphia was not what I expected. It was amazing to be in the presence of so many people I’ve admired and to witness history (First female nominee of a major party, y’all!!!!!). On the flip side, we could hardly hear the speakers and there was quite a bit of logistical happenings around us. My favorite part was hanging out with the Texas Delegation (other national delegates, elected officials, honored guests, etc.). These are people who are truly engaged in the important issues we face on a daily basis. These are people who are passionate about making our community a better place. Being in that stadium, with all those people, really reinvigorates a person’s want to give back to the community and to make a difference. If just for that, it was worth the work to get there.
This is what our country is about, y’all. Get out and exercise your right to vote!
Check out the League of Women Voters Election Guide here.
