Reader Posts
« previous | TPM CAFÉ READER POSTS HOME | next »
Guam caucus is tomorrow (or is that today?)
Just a reminder for those who'd rather talk about something other than gas tax holidays or a certain YouTube clip: Guam is holding their caucus tomorrow.
Guam is so far west of us, that it's actually to the east (or vice-versa). Its timezone is UTC+10, meaning that they're 14 hours ahead of us (or 15 if they're also observing daylight saving time) so it's already tomorrow there. Their population size is less than 200,000 (mainly of various Asian ethnicities), and about 3,000 are expected to caucus tomorrow. Although CBS describes it as a caucus (which tend to favor Obama), RealClearPolitics describes it as a closed primary (which tend to favor Clinton), although this description is via a footnote. I'm guessing this means it's a closed caucus (which I think most, if not all, caucuses are). There are a total of 8 delegates, each with ½ of a vote, so it counts as if there were only 4 delegates. In addition to the 8 pledged semi-delegates, there are 5 unpledged ("super") delegates. One of these, Taling Taitano, has endorsed Clinton, and the other 4 are uncommitted.
Although both have been campaigning here, it seems that (public) pollsters haven't bothered to ask people how they're going to vote, so I have no idea what to expect.
Comments (14)
Whoa. A time-warp caucus. Cool.
So when will we get results?
And I'd guess they'd split the delegates.
Also, why 8 delegates worth 1/2? Why not just 4?
May 2, 2008 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know, but they did the same thing with Democrats Abroad.
May 2, 2008 4:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well if it's really tomorrow in Guam, then we should get the results today. But since today was yesterday in Guam, the results should be available before the voting starts--just like in Zimbabwe. Check CNN--maybe the results have already been posted.
May 2, 2008 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you give eight people half a vote, you get to send twice as many to Denver.
All your useless Guam elections info here:
TheGreenPapers.com
May 2, 2008 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who wants to bet that they each walk away with 2 delegates?
May 2, 2008 4:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's what I figure as well. The results would have to be really skewed for it to shift to 3:1, I think about 68% of the vote to get 3? I know nothing about Guam's demographics though.
May 2, 2008 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Keep in mind, that it could be 2.5:1.5, which wouldn't surprise me (mainly because I haven't a clue).
May 2, 2008 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Today is tomorrow in Guam. Where, if you were actually in Guam, it would be today.
But, right here, today was tomorrow yesterday. But that's beside the point.
May 2, 2008 4:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
How can you have half a delegate? Aren't we violating mathematical laws here? Can you have 2 and a half cars, for instance, or is the halfcar really just a piece of junk?
Likewise, can you have 3 and a half people, or is the halfperson really just half of a corpse?
May 2, 2008 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
There are actually 8 pledged delegates going to the convention, each with ½ of a vote. So, if Clinton got 5 and Obama 3, you'd have a 2.5:1.5 split.
May 2, 2008 4:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok. Now that makes sense.
So, sweet - we'll get up tomorrow morning and find results.
May 2, 2008 7:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
isn't the required delegate total a whole number? why would half delegates even matter?
how do you seat half a delegate?
it still makes no sense to me, from a practical standpoint.
May 3, 2008 5:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
It would be early May 3rd there right now.
May 2, 2008 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Correction: per CNN, of the 5 superdelegates, one is for Clinton, one is for Obama, and 3 are uncommitted.
May 3, 2008 9:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Post a Comment