It’s another Sunday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up anytime: Just visit our group or follow the Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about. With the help of other campaign workers and notes, we address how to improve and build better campaigns or explain issues that impact our party.
Some weeks, I address issues facing the party as a whole. This week, I am looking ahead to the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. For those who follow my Twitter feed—@tmservo433—you occasionally will see a stream of #DNCRBC. This is the friendly hashtag for discussions around the Democratic National Committee’s Rules & Bylaws Committee, the body that helps to oversee issues that impact our party charter and structure. In a meeting this month, the Rules & Bylaws Committee passed a resolution allowing for significant changes to the way a convention could be held. Ballots were mailed out, and many have already been received and are on their way back to the party office. I’ve already written about why I think the convention should go away. Markos had similar thoughts in his analysis of why the nominee loses almost nothing. With the ballots in the hands of the voters, let’s talk about how we build our coalition based on this effort.
We are all in this together
When a Democratic convention occurs, we have a hope for and a commitment to diversity that matches our voting base. The Democratic voting base is diverse. It reflects the young and the poor, Black, white, Latino, Native American, and other global indigenous cultures. We work to provide them all with access to represent their communities and show the strength of our party. A virtual convention or vote-by-mail can provide that. States like Kansas in the caucus season were great examples, seeing their voter response go from 39,000 in 2016 to nearly 140,000 in 2020. These are all good things. They’re great things to expand our voter base.
This does not mean that expansion into a digital voting space doesn’t bring concerns with it. There are communities that are underserved by doing digital voting—specifically rural communities and communities of color. This is mostly due to the lack of stable high-speed internet, or general cost for what is received. The U.S. Census Bureau offers this graphic on the issue:
Providers often just list access to high-speed internet as enough if you have a cell phone. Is a cell phone enough to qualify for high-speed internet for this purpose? That is less certain and dependent on how the virtual participation strategy is created. I am a huge believer in allowing everyone more opportunities to participate, and I believe virtual opportunities are a big part of that effort. It also gives us a chance to talk about the growing digital divide that impacts so many nationally and limits their opportunities.
We need to be resolved on the buy-in
One of the most important elements going into the 2020 election has nothing at all to do with balloons. Or winning over that elusive undecided voter. If you look at the data Civiqs provides, self-identified Republicans are in overwhelming support of their party. Self-identifying Democratic voters are overwhelmingly in support of their party. This makes the question of the process of holding a giant party less meaningful. Who cares how the balloons drop? I mean, let them drop at the Biden household.
The New York Times pointed out the reality: Delegates just don’t want to go.
“I have heard from people who have gone to many conventions, people who are die-hards, saying, ‘I’m not going to that,’” said David Pepper, the Ohio Democratic Party chairman. “One thing that may drive the decision is people saying they’re not going to go.”
It will be very hard to push people with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant mothers or new mothers, and those who have daily contact with those groups to have a mass gathering.
I sent my ballot back yesterday. I was a “YES” vote for the proposition. The buy-in can’t come from just membership—it has to come from our own base. It means that the Democratic grassroots have to also feel a level of excitement. Rather than mourn the loss of a balloon drop, we should celebrate the inclusion of so many people who will be part of an experience that in the past they could not attend because of money or time, and in 2020 they could not try to attend because of health risks. We are encountering the possibility of opening that door to allow our convention to be a convention of the people. Let’s celebrate that.