Young People Get Cut: How to Navigate the Last Stages of the Delegate Process in Nebraska

Young people across the United States this past week are getting a taste of the politicking that goes on inside campaigns. Young people, who are trying to become “pledged delegates” to the Democratic National Convention, got emails from campaigns essentially saying “thanks, but no thanks.”

Campaigns are cutting people of all ages off the lists of potential delegates and the cutting is allowable under the rules, so campaigns are not doing anything unusual.

The big difference this time around is the record number of young people running as pledged delegates--and therefore a big portion of the number of people getting cut. This is obviously causing some friction between the message they hear from campaigns and the message they are getting in their inbox.

Many people can understand it from a political perspective because the race is so tight therefore campaigns only want their most “loyal supporters” on their list of potential delegates in case the nomination goes to the National Convention where the delegates will be the ones electing the Democratic nominee for President.

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More often than not, the people left on the potential delegate list are those who have been involved in Party politics for years. This usually means those who are known by the campaign staff because they are donors, because they are current Party leaders or because they are rockstar volunteers. The last category obviously includes young people, but only the top few.

Campaigns explain how difficult it is from their perspective on balancing all the various constituency groups, which includes young people, folks from the GLBT community, African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, Veterans, the Disability community, Native Americans, women, union members…well you get the point there is a lot to balance to ensure a state's delegation is diverse and represents the members of the Democratic Party.

Bad for the Youh Vote
My question is, what about all the young people who are getting involved in Party politics for the first time? These are the young people who have listened to the messages of Democrats wanting them involved at higher levels and who thought they knew the rules, only to get the dreaded “thanks, but no thanks” email.

The cutting process is not good for the youth vote. The Democratic Party as a whole should be doing everything they can to harness the youth vote and encourage their leadership within the Party structure. They should be explaining the rules, helping them navigate them, encouraging them to run and allowing them the opportunity to run.

Most young people understood they were already facing an uphill battle of trying to get elected as a pledged delegate since they are unknown to a lot of people who are voting for delegates at the county and state level. But they at least want the opportunity to run, and these cuts don’t give them that basic opportunity.

The Party and campaigns are not used to large amounts of young people wanting a seat at the “big kids table.” Usually, young people are told to go join a local Young Democrats or College Democrats chapter. Young people are joining those groups and lots of others like Democrats Work and the League of Young Voters, but they also want to be leaders within the Party structure. They know this is where decisions are made and they want to be part of that process.

It’s Not Too Late for Nebraska
Luckily, it’s not too late for young people here in Nebraska. The Nebraska Democratic Party outlines our state’s delegate selection process on their website. The site does an excellent job explaining the different types of delegates and how you can become a delegate from Nebraska to the National Convention.

You have until May 30^th to apply to be a delegate.

The critical part for any young person running as a delegate is that you should learn from what is happening in these early states so it doesn’t happen to you and that you remember this essential piece—get yourself known by the campaign staff that will make the cuts.

Being known is critical. Do NOT be humble in this process. Create a Facebook or MySpace page making the case for your delegate status, talk to the campaign, write letters to your state DNC members especially the Chair, share a copy of the letter that the DNC Youth Council sent to all State Party Chairs, write letters to your elected officials who often have “pull” with the process…reach out to folks and make the case.

While State Party staff members do NOT decide who or if someone is cut from the candidate’s list of potential delegates, that is a decision made by the campaigns, State Party leadership can step in if you do get cut from the delegate list by considering you for an At-Large or PLEO delegate spot.

If You Eventually Do Get Cut
When the campaigns begin to cut lists in Nebraska, which will be done around May 30^th, you can still become a delegate to the National Convention by getting selected as an At-Large or PLEO delegate. The Democratic Party’s Youth Council and the Association of State Party Chairs did send a letter out to all State Party leaders encouraging them to appoint young people to the PLEO spots. You should use this letter to your advantage.

Otherwise, you can also try to get one of the “At-Large” delegate spots that the Nebraska Democratic Party has control over. These are positions that go to people for various reasons—some to reach diversity goals and some to reach gender balance. There is no reason you can’t make the case to your State Party that young people are a critical constituency group this election cycle and that you want to serve as a leader in the Party to help secure that voting bloc.

Inside Baseball
Some may consider this post “insider baseball” and it is—no doubt about it. But at the same time, as young people continue to increase their level of voting and their preference for Democrats, then it is only natural they will also increase their level of leadership within the Party.

The Democratic Party and the candidates should welcome this energy. Research tells us if you get a person to vote for a Party three times in a row, they become a Party voter for life. For many young people this will be their third election cycle voting for Democrats (i.e. 2004 being the first and 2006 being the second time large amounts of young people trended Democratic).

Democrats need young people to win. We want to play ball, let us at least try out for the team.

Note: this diary is cross posted at http://think.mtv.com/janeflemingkleeb, I am Nebraska's MTV's Street Team rep and write a story each week on politics and young people.