You may complete your caucus declaration form in advance to speed up the registration process, forms available on the convention page, 2013 8th CD Convention, under ‘Downloads’. NOTE: only sign the form AT the convention at the registration table. Forms will be available at the registration tables, but make things go even faster at check-in by having them all filled out (except your signature) in advance!

scan for convention info on your smartphone or tablet

Convention info: Purpose, Order of Business, Rules (Temporary, Suggested Caucus), Candidates, Resolutions ALL available for mobile viewing on your smartphone / tablet, click here, or scan this code.

The complete resolutions package is now available for viewing and download from the convention page, under ‘Resolutions’.

Eighth District Democrats,

Congratulations to those who have filed a 2013 Eighth Congressional District Committee Membership Form Prefiling Form by 5:00 pm on May 10 for consideration.

Effective May 1, 2013, the Eighth Congressional District adopted the rules as proposed by the Temporary Rules Committee, click here for ‘Rules’, for our District Convention which will be held on May 18 at Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, VA.

All Democrats who are registered voters within the Eighth Congressional District may attend the District Convention. Convention attendees will sign-in between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and have their names checked against a registered voters list for their jurisdiction. Registration will cease at 10:00 a.m. with the exception that anyone in line at 10:00 a.m. will be eligible for registration. After registration, attendees may join the jurisdiction caucus composed of other residents of their jurisdiction. 

The following candidates with their respective jurisdictions filed with me by 5 p.m. on May 10, 2013:

• ALEXANDRIA CITY - 4 Members (2 female and 2 male)
  • Female: C. E. “PJ” Palmer Johnson, Susan Kellom, Dorothea Peters
  • Male: Elvis S. Cordova, Dak Hardwick, Richard Hobson, Pat Mulloy
• ARLINGTON COUNTY- 6 Members (3 female and 3 male)
  • Female: Leni Gonzalez, Margo E. Horner, Maureen Markham
  • Male: Stephen W. Baker, Max Burns, Dave Leichtman, Steve Prince Ogunwo, Robert C. “Bob” Platt, Lawrence Roberts, Terron Sims II
• FAIRFAX COUNTY - 9 Members (5 female and 4 male)
  • Female: Pixie Bell, Rose C. Chu, Lynn D. Clark, Alessia “Alex” Kirkland, Janet L. Myhre, Carmen Orozco-Acosta, Virginia “Ginny” Lehner Peters
  • Male: Christopher Ambrose, Steve Bunn, Michael G. Burke Kirby, Mark A. Cannady, John D. Cherry III, Eddie Eitches, Abdel-Rahman Hamed, Patrick Morrison, Alex Rodriguez
• FALLS CHURCH CITY - 1 Member (1 female or 1 male)*
  • Female: Betty Coll

*Gender Balance: To be compliant with the State Party Plan Section 4.3 Equal Division, and pursuant to advice of the same section, gender balance may be achieved under the authority of Section 6.2 Additional Members; therefore, regarding the election of one Democratic member of the General Assembly and three county or city representatives “any district committee may choose to use these positions to insure that the equal division requirement of Section 4.3 is met.”

Thus, the 2013 Eighth District Convention will elect twenty Democratic State Central Committee members on May 18.

The Eighth District Convention’s Temporary Rules and Call may be found on the Eighth District Website, www.VA8thCDDems.org. The Temporary Resolutions Committee’s Report will be posted on the Website when it is available. I want to thank Steve Bunn for the countless hours he has spent on the Eighth District Website.

Charley Conrad, Eighth District Secretary, covered the Arlington Democratic Committee Headquarters to accept any last minute filings. Thanks Charley for being at the Headquarters.

Volunteers on the Eighth District and on the local Democratic Committees are working on the District Convention. The Rules Committee under the leadership of Pat Morrison and Steve Bunn along with the Credentials Committee, headed by PJ Palmer Johnson, and the Resolutions Committee, headed by Dick Hobson, have been hard at work on this year’s Eighth District Democratic Convention, and the Eighth District’s Parliamentarian, Peter Owen, will assist once again at this year’s District Convention.

So please encourage your Democratic friends, family, neighbors, and grassroots workers to attend the 2013 Eighth Congressional District Democratic Convention. Arrive early and purchase coffee and doughnuts from the Fairfax Young Democrats.

Forward to the 2013 Eighth Congressional District Democratic Convention!

Regards,

Margo Horner
Chair, Eighth Congressional District Democratic Committee
www.VA8thCDDems.org

In the past month so much has taken place in the area of voter rights and election protection: Fairfax County Bipartisan Election Process Improvement Commission, President Obama’s Commission on Improving Vote Process, Brennan Center Voting Laws Roundup, Prince William County Election Process Task Force Hearing, Rep. Cummings and Members Ask GAO to Study Voting Delays (Virginia and Florida). See more about each below … 

Bipartisan Election Process Improvement Commission (Fairfax County) – March 19

In response to citizen complaints about long lines and other concerns during the 2012 Election Day, and to improve the election process in Fairfax County, the Board of Supervisors created the Bipartisan Election Process Improvement Commission at its November 20, 2012 meeting. The commission was charged with examining the issues listed below, as well as any other issues that commission members may deem appropriate. The Final Report of the Bipartisan Election Process Improvement Commission was delivered to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

• Consider optimal locations for precincts, the adequacy of parking at each precinct and whether sufficient space is available for stacking lines and carrying out operations effectively.
• Analyze the size of precincts to determine if some precincts should be divided.
• Analyze a variety of issues associated with equipment, including number of voting machines, types of voting equipment, electronic poll books, and back-up machines. There should also be a review of accepted industry standards for how many machines per voter should exist at precincts.
• Examine practices for ensuring a sufficient number of election workers on Election Day as well as how the Registrar identifies and trains election workers. Consideration should be given to the barriers to becoming an election worker, appropriate training, instructional materials and reporting forms.
• Evaluate the process by which election officials are approved and dispatched to polls.
• Review the county’s absentee voting policy, including a review of both the by-mail and in-person voting processes.

Commission on Improving Vote Process Set up by Obama – March 28

Bloomberg News

President Barack Obama established today a commission to study ways of shortening lines at polling places and propose other steps to improve the way U.S. elections are run, the White House said.

Obama formed the nine-member commission through an executive order he signed. Serving as its co-chairmen will be two veteran election lawyers, Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsberg. Bauer handled legal affairs for Obama’s two presidential campaigns and Ginsberg was the top election lawyer for 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

The commission is to submit a report within six months after its first public meeting. It will “serve as a best- practices guide for state and local election officials to improve voters’ experience at the polls under their existing election laws,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. Read the rest …

Election 2013: Voting Laws Roundup – April 3

Brennan Center for Justice

In 2013, state legislators continue to push laws that would make it harder for eligible American citizens to vote. At the same time, others are pressing measures to improve elections. In this article you will find a regularly-updated, comprehensive roundup of where restrictive laws were introduced, where they are pending, where they are active, and where they have passed thus far.

Prince William County Election Process Task Force Hearing – April 3

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors appointed a 15-member, bi-partisan Election Process Taskforce in December 2012. This group is tasked with examining the election process in Prince William County.

The Election Process Taskforce will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at 7 p.m. at the Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22191. The purpose of the public hearing is to receive public input and comment regarding the County’s Nov. 6, 2012, Presidential Election polling process.

All residents of Prince William County are invited to attend in person and provide comment or may file written comments with the taskforce prior to the date of the hearing (April 10). Written comments should be sent to EPTF@pwcgov.org.

The taskforce will also hold a public hearing on the western end of the County in the near future. Information about that public hearing will be released as soon as the details are finalized.

More information about the Election Process Taskforce may be found at www.pwcgov.org/EPTF.

Rep. Cummings, Members Ask GAO to Study Voting Delays in 2012 Election Request “Case Studies” of Virginia and Florida – April 4

Washington, DC (April 4, 2013)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, as the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Rep. Frederica Wilson from Florida’s 24th District sent a letter asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine why U.S. citizens had to wait so long to vote at many polling places across the country on Election Day in 2012. See the letter below:

April 4, 2013

The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro
Comptroller General of the United States
U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20548

Dear Mr. Dodaro:

On Election Day 2012, voters across the country were forced to wait in long lines in order to cast their votes.  For example, voters in Virginia waited for as long as four hours to cast their ballots.[1]  One study estimated that in Florida, more than 200,000 voters decided not to vote because the lines were too long.[2]  Similar reports surfaced from Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and other states across the country.[3]  Long lines were not only a problem in 2012, but also in past presidential elections.[4]

Reports indicate that long poll lines did not affect all voters equally.  Black and Hispanic voters had significantly longer wait times on average than white voters, and voters in urban areas generally faced longer wait times than voters in suburban and rural areas.[5]  Long waiting times place undue hardship on individuals who cannot afford to take time off work, or who are physically unable to endure standing for long periods of time.  As President Obama said in his recent State of the Union address:

When any Americans—no matter where they live or what their party—are denied that right simply because they can’t wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals.[6]

For these reasons, we request that GAO conduct a study of the underlying causes contributing to long lines on Election Day, including evaluating laws that impact voting rights and election administration.  This study will help inform both federal and state policymakers about the types of reforms that will most effectively reduce long waiting times and ensure that all Americans obtain equal access to the ballot box.  We also request that GAO examine two states—Virginia and Florida—as case studies in order to conduct more detailed analyses, although you may wish to add others.  Specifically, we request that GAO examine the following questions:

1. To what extent did local election jurisdictions encounter long voter waiting times during the 2012 general election, and what information did they collect on voter waiting times?

2. What do state and local election officials and available research identify as the most significant factors that contributed to extended waiting times?

3. What successful actions have federal, state, and local governments taken to reduce waiting times, and what do they and other stakeholders identify as the most beneficial practices to achieve this goal?

If you have any questions about this request, please contact Claire Coleman or Adam Koshkin at (202) 225-5051.

Sincerely,

________________________         

Elijah E. Cummings 
Ranking Member 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Gerald E. Connolly
Ranking Member 
Subcommittee on Government Operations, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

Frederica S. Wilson 
Member of Congress 

________________________  

[1] Long Lines, Demands for ID and Provisional Ballots Mar Voting for Some, New York Times (Nov. 6, 2012).

[2] Analysis:  201,000 in Florida Didn’t Vote Because of Long Lines, Orlando Sentinel (Jan. 29, 2013).

[3] How to Fix Long Lines, Brennan Center for Justice (2013).  See also Our Broken Voting System and How to Repair It, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law (Feb 12, 2012).

[4] Long Lines, Voting Machine Availability, and Turnout:  The Case of Franklin County, Ohio in the 2004 Presidential Election, Political Science (Jan. 2006).

[5] How Long It Took Different Groups to Vote, New York Times (Feb. 4, 2013).

[6] The White House, Remarks by the President in the State of the Union Address (Feb. 12, 2013). 

Students and parents are invited to join Congressman Jim Moran for a discussion on how to make college more affordable. Ask questions, complete FAFSA forms, and learn about options to finance your education from the Department of Education, Sallie Mae, and the Federal Trade Commission.

Monday, March 18, 2013
7:30-9:30 pm
Mt. Vernon High School (8515 Old Mt. Vernon Road, Alexandria, VA 22309; map, click here)

Representatives Include:

• Department of Education
• Sallie Mae
• Federal Trade Commission
• Northern Virginia Community College
• Project Discovery
• Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)
• Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Krysta.Jones@mail.house.gov.

Please join Congressman Jim Moran for a Family Pancake Breakfast.

Saturday, April 20, 2013  8-10 am

George Washington Middle School, cafeteria (1005 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301; map, click here).

Online tickets, click here. Family and Individual tickets: $25/individual, $75/family of four, other contribution levels appreciated. For additional information please contact Moran for Congress (703) 299-0064.