The Maine Democratic Party is rolling out it’s delegate selection plan for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, to be held in Milwaukee, WI on July 13-16. The plan focuses on ensuring that Maine sends a national delegation to the Convention that reflects the diverse makeup of Maine Democrats overall.
Maine has 24 pledged delegate spots to the Democratic National Convention. In the past, those spots were allocated amongst presidential nominees by a caucus system. This year, Maine is switching to a primary system, with a primary election taking place on March 3, 2020. Maine also has 8 unpledged delegates who will not vote at the National Convention, unless a presidential nominee is not elected in the first round of voting.
The 24 pledged delegate spots allocated to presidential primary candidates by the March 3 primary, will be filled by an election at the Maine State Convention, on May 29-31 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Delegates to the State Convention will vote for the national delegation within their presidential preference.
The focus of the delegate selection plan will be to encourage a diverse cross section of Maine Democrats to run for these 24 delegate spots. Included in the plan are representation goals designed to make sure Maine's delegation reflects the Maine Democratic electorate. The goals are to elect seven delegates age 36 or younger, seven with disabilities, four LGBTQ+, and one delegate each for African Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, Hispanic/Latinx Americans, and Native Americans.
The Affirmative Action Committee of the Maine Democratic Party will be reaching out to organizations across Maine, to speak directly to their members through a presentation that explains the process, and encourages participation by historically under-represented groups. These presentations will take place in person over the fall and winter of 2019 - 2020, and through webinars in the spring of 2020.
“The Maine Democratic Party is proud to be devoting time and resources to ensuring that our voice at the National Convention reflects the diversity of our Democratic Party membership in Maine. Diversity is our strength,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra.
For more information, please visit the Maine Democratic Party website at www.mainedems.org, and look under the “Delegate Selection” dropdown menu.