ATLANTA — Democratic Party officials explained to reporters on background the rules for how today’s election will go down:
- Fifty percent + 1 votes are required to win.
- If all 447 voting members were present, 224 votes would be required to win. However, party officials said not all members were present, and potentially as many as 70 proxies would be voting on behalf of absent members.
- Proxies can receive very specific instructions from the people they are representing in terms of who to vote for, or they can have the freedom to vote for whom they please.
- The total amount of votes cast today will not exceed 442.
- All candidates will appear on the ballot in the first round of voting, as well as the second round if none of the candidates drop out.
- If there is a third round of voting, the candidate with fewest votes at the end of the second round is eliminated and will not appear on the ballot in the next round. If there is a tie for candidates with fewest votes, they are both eliminated.
- After each round of voting after the third round, the candidate with the fewest ballot is eliminated.
- If a candidate drops out, he or she gets two minutes to address the entire general session. During the address he or she can say whatever they want, or endorse another candidate.
- The votes will be counted by an electronic clicker, along with a paper ballot that each candidate must fill out and submit. The ballot acts as a paper trail in the event the vote must be audited.
- Members have a two-minute window to pick their candidates on the clicker in each round of voting. They can change votes in that two-minute window, but once time is up, the vote is set.
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