Today I wanted to take a little time and explain how one becomes a delegate to the national convention. It's one of the most common questions delegates get asked so figured it would be good to do a post on the subject.
The process begins early in the year with "Precinct Reorganization." This is where neighbors come together to devise a game plan to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. It's the most basic level of our Democratic process: people talking with their neighbors and taking responsibility for getting their neighbors out to vote in November.
If you want to be a delegate you must get voted to become a delegate to the county convention which was held in March. At the county convention everyone gathers together to hear from local candidates and to vote on who among them will go on to be delegates to the state convention
In between the county convention and the state convention those who are interested in being delegates to the convention must fill out some additional paperwork to qualify. If you properly filled out your paperwork and been elected at those two previous conventions then at the state convention you run to become a National delegate. Because we are Democrats and believe that diversity is critical to success as a Nation, we elect some people people based on age, race, sexual orientation, gender etc. We want to make sure the people from all walks of life are represented in Charlotte in 2012 because unlike our Republican opponents the Democratic Party is all about inclusion.
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Once you've been elected as a delegate to the national convention there several meetings that you must attend to follow up and learn about what specific tasks you need to accomplish as a delegate. It also helps so that we can learn to be more effective delegates when we get to Charlotte. The SCDP did a great job of including a lot of good information about the process here.
—-Post written by: Brady Quirk-Garvan is a life-long Democrat who calls Charleston, South Carolina home. He has worked with over 15 candidates and advocacy groups, including a 6 month stint working for President Obama’s 2008 campaign in the swing state of Ohio. Currently, Brady continues to push for social change working for one of the premier socially responsible investing firms, Natural Investments: “Money with a Mission”. Natural Investments is a registered B-Corporation and was recently given the “Best for the world” award. Brady serves on the Charleston County Greenbelt Advisory Board, as well as the Board of Directors for We Are Family, Remember Niger, and The Palmetto Project.