Melder's Musings

Lampasas County Democrats invite all interested Democrats to attend a “mock” precinct convention on Tuesday, February 26, at 602 South Walnut Street. The "mock" convention will begin at 6:00 p.m.

Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson expects “significant levels of voter turnout” for the March 4 Texas Primary. Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie says this year's turnout may be more than 200% greater than the 2004 primary. Local Democrats encourage all voters in the Democratic Primary to maximize their participation by attending the precinct conventions following the primary election at the polling places used on March 4.

Betty Lindsey, past-president, of the Democratic Women’s Association of Lampasas, observes that “many voters overlook the precinct caucuses from lack of experience, but almost a third of the delegates to the national convention are selected by the caucus process.” Democrats who hope to get the most delegates for their presidential candidate need to be at the caucuses on March 4.

Keith King, Chairman of the Lampasas County Democratic Party, says “the caucus hasn’t been important in recent presidential elections in Texas because the candidate had been decided before Texas voted. Because of the intensity in this presidential campaign our state party wants to be certain that precinct conventions are fair, orderly, and disciplined ‘in order to promote confidence in the outcome’. To foster this atmosphere we can hold a mock convention without the pressures of the true campaigns so participants will feel comfortable on March 4."

Daniel Melder, Executive Director of the Lampasas County Young Democrats, joined King in encouraging all interested Democratic voters to attend the mock convention on February 26. “The more voters participate in the process the more they’ll support the decision. I haven’t seen interest like this among young people in the last two elections and we want to keep their participation and excitement."

Here's a quick rundown of the details:

WHAT: Lampasas County Democrats "Mock" Precinct Convention

WHEN: Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: 602 South Walnut Street, Lampasas

The Young Democrats will follow the "mock" convention with a brief meeting to discuss plans for the upcoming Texas Young Democrats Convention and our new scholarship program. Complete details are available by clicking on the "Calendar" link on the left side of our homepage. We hope to see you there!

Note: if the casual readers of this blog are asking themselves if the above post reads like a press release, that's because it is a press release. Well, it's actually a modified version of a press release sent out by the Lampasas County Democratic Party. It pretty well says what needs to be said, so why should I reinvent the wheel?