public:cb_mirror:being_a_convention_delegate_is_my_super_superpower_txt_pages_19817
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Being a convention delegate is my super superpower
 You hear it a lot. This-or-that is my superpower. TV advertisers want you to buy their product and feel like it has given you a distinct advantage. “The Citizen's Guide” on the Virginia Public Access Project's website is named #use_your_superpower. Here it is https://www.vpap.org/general-assembly/citizens-guide/#use_your_superpower VPAP explains how there may be many well funded lobbyists who visit the capital during session, but you have something they don't. You are a constituent. You can vote for or against the legislator at the next election. Well, then. Being a convention delegate is your super superpower. Why? As a convention delegate, you will be among a few hundred that will choose your party's nominee. That means when you talk to the candidate, they will be keenly interested in your perspective and will want to win your vote far more desperately than if you were “just” a voter on Election Day. Virginia has a population of about 8.5 million. Just under 6 million are registered voters. There are 100 House Districts in Virginia. Each House District will have an average of about 60,000 voters. 2023 is an off year election (meaning the president nor congress is up for election, so it will be a low turnout). Only 37% of registered voters in Virginia vote at every election (that's about 22,200 per House District). So, when you vote for a Virginia House of Delegates candidate on Election Day, you are likely 1 in 22,200. That's the superpower vpap.org was talking about. A Virginia House of Delegates candidate could receive their party's nomination by a primary in an off year election (like 2023) by winning a majority of the 5-17% voters who turn out for the primary vote. So, if you are a primary voter on June 20, 2023 you will likely be 1 in 10,000 to as low as 1 in 3,000. That's a heck-of-a superpower! Sometimes, the political party will decide to hold a firehouse primary (sometimes called a party canvass), which is very similar to a regular primary, except that the voting takes place at fewer polling locations. There are usually one or two locations in each county where you can vote. Turnout is likely to be close to same as it would be for a regular primary. Now let's look at a party convention for a state House District in Virginia. What it requires is for a voter to have pre filed their form with their local political party by a certain deadline and following particular procedures and then they must show up to the convention and spend the better part of their Saturday listening to campaign speeches until finally they get to vote on the candidate. It is a time consuming proposition to become a convention delegate and even more time consuming to perform your duty as a convention delegate. At a convention, there are often less than 500 people who show up. That's a super superpower! If you will be a convention delegate, please use it to your advantage. Prior to the convention or primary: -Check the results of the candidate surveys -Call or email the candidates and identify yourself as a convention delegate -Ask the candidates to complete the candidate survey if they have not yet done so -Thank candidates who have completed the survey -Ask them to verbally confirm to you that they will support Convention of States -Ask that they commit to being a cosponsor Even if you think you might not be able to attend the convention, you should still become a delegate to the convention. Your super superpower comes from being a delegate and contacting the candidates before the convention begins. That is when you will be most effective at influencing the candidate. As of April 8, 2023, there are no democrat conventions for the House of Delegates (all democrat nomination contests will be by primaries). There are 4 republican conventions for the House of Delegates.And there is 1 republican firehouse primary for the House of Delegates. All other republican nomination contests will be decided by primary. There are no democrat conventions for the State Senate. All democrat nominations will be decided by primary. There will be 1 republican convention for the State Senate. And there will be 1 firehouse primary for State Senate. All other republican nomination contests will be decided by primary. Note: If your House District or Senate District will hold a primary or firehouse primary, you still have a superpower. You should contact the candidates and let them know you will be voting at the primary or firehouse primary and follow the same steps outlined above to influence the candidates. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. Use your superpower and let us know how is goes! |
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| Login Required to view? | No |
| Created: | 2023-04-08 15:00 GMT |
| Updated: | 2023-04-22 07:00 GMT |
| Published: | 2023-04-15 04:00 GMT |
| Converted: | 2025-11-11 12:40 GMT |
| Change Author: | Christopher Walker |
| Credit Author: | |
public/cb_mirror/being_a_convention_delegate_is_my_super_superpower_txt_pages_19817.txt · Last modified: 2025/11/11 12:40 by 127.0.0.1