CLOSER to NOMINATION ELECTIONS Marchhas Passedand Thereare Only Ahandful of Voting Days Left Untilbothpolitical Partiesholdtheir Conventions

Home , Brokered convention, Superdelegate

8A » Sunday, March 27,2016 » KITSAPSUN AJOURNAL MEDIAGROUP PROJECT CLOSER TO NOMINATION ELECTIONS Marchhas passedand thereare only ahandful of voting days left untilbothpolitical partiesholdtheir conventions. HillaryClinton 2016 andDonaldTrump areleading in thedelegatecounts, butthatstill does notmeantheyhaveaneasyroadtotheir respective party nominations. When delegate totals arethisclose,anythingcan happen at thenationalconventions this summer. Millions of people have votedinprimariesand at caucuses duringthe ﬁrst fewmonthsthisyear. Theirvotes arenow in thehands of just afew thousand people. MEETTT THHEE DELEGATES

The modern presidential nominationprocess —linking avotecastfor acandidate to the allocation of adelegateatthe convention level—was born outofalaw passed in 1910 in Oregon.In2016, 35 U.S. jurisdictionshaveorwillholdprimary elections, 13 have or will hold caucuses andeight have some combinationofthose. With rulesvarying from partytoparty andstate to state, theprocess of selectingapresidentialcandidate is alot more complicatedthanjustpicking someoneinthe ballot booth.

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Sources: www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-delegate-tracker/;votesmart.org; ballotpedia.org;www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-presidential-primary-schedule-calendar/;www.poynter.org/2016/heres-what-journalists-need-to-know-about- superdelegates/396248/;www.newsweek.com/democrats-keep-controversial-superdelegates-71649;www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/12/what-happens-if-republicans-face-a-brokered-convention-explained/;www.realclearpolitics.com/ articles/2015/12/22/a_brokered_convention_in_2016_why_it_might_happen_what_it_might_mean_129119.html

RACE FORTHE WHITEHOUSE WHAT HAPPENS AT A EL20ECTI16ONS DELEGATE TRACKER CONTESTEDOR Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-delegate-tracker/ BROKERED CONVENTION? REPUBLICAN DEMOCRAT NEEDED TO WIN NOMINATION: 1,237 NEEDED TO WIN There hasbeenalot of talk this year aboutcontested,orbrokered, NOMINATION: 2,383 Donald Trump: 739 MikeHuckabee: 1* conventions. This happenswhenacandidate does nothavethe majority HillaryClinton: 1,703 TedCruz: 465 Notyet allocated: 944 BernieSanders: 985 of delegatesneeded to secure thenominationafter thefirstvoteatthe MarcoRubio: 166* Notyet allocated: 2,077 John Kasich: 143 convention. Ben Carson: 8* *Jeb Bush, BenCarson, Carly NOTE:Numbers include On thefirstround of voting,all pledgeddelegates must vote forthe candidate JebBush: 4* Fiorina, Mike Huckabee,Rand superdelegates pledged to thecandidates. to whom they arepledged.Iftheyvotefor adifferentcandidate,their vote is not CarlyFiorina: 1* Paul andMarcoRubio have RandPaul: 1* suspended theircampaigns. Notall delegateswereawarded as of counted. States where voteswere dividedproportionallycannotdecidetogive presstime. alltheir delegatestoone candidate. OTHERKEY DATES Superdelegates on theDemocraticsideand unbound delegatesonthe April1:North Dakota primaryand West Virginia June 14: District of Columbia Republican sidecan vote forany candidatetheywish. Republicancaucuses primary Democratic primary Things gettrickyifacandidate doesn’tget themajorityofvotes afterthe first April5:Wisconsin primary May17: Oregonprimary and July 18: RepublicanNational round. Rules, setbeforeeachconventionbyacommittee,can vary on what April9:Colorado Republican KentuckyDemocraticprimary Convention convention andWyoming May24: Washington state July 25: Democratic National happenstopledged delegatesafter that first vote.Atpastconventions,for Democratic caucuses Republicanprimary Convention example, candidates were free to releasetheir delegatestovotefor someone April19: NewYorkprimary June 4: U.S. Virgin Islands Sept.26: Presidential debate April26: Connecticut Democratic caucuses Oct. 4: Vice presidential else,ordelegates became unpledged if acandidate’s supportdropped belowa primary, Delaware primary, June 5: Puerto Rico debate certainpercentage. Maryland primary, Democratic caucuses Oct. 9: Presidential debate Pennsylvania primaryand June 7: Californiaprimary, Oct. 19: Presidential debate Voting continuesuntil acandidate reachesthe majority of votesneeded to RhodeIslandprimary Montanaprimary,New Jersey Nov. 8: Election Day secure thenomination. May3:Indianaprimary primary, NewMexicoprimary, COMINGNEXTMONTH: A Both Democrats (in1952) andRepublicans (in1948) lost thepresidential May7:Guam Democratic North Dakota Democratic look at howthe candidates caucuses caucuses andSouth Dakota have beenusing social media election aftertheir last multi-ballot convention. May10: NebraskaRepublican primary to reach potentialvoters.