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WASHINGTON — Ohio and Florida, which provided the decisive electoral votes for President Bush's two razor-thin national election triumphs, have enacted laws that election experts say will help Republicans impede Democratic-leaning minorities from voting in 2008. Backers of the new laws say they're aimed at curbing vote fraud. But the statutes also could facilitate a controversial Republican tactic known as ``vote caging,'' which the GOP attempted in Ohio and Florida in 2004 before public disclosures foiled the efforts, said Joseph Rich, a former Justice Department voting rights chief in the Bush administration who's now with the Lawyers Committee for Civil...

Fla. Dems to keep Jan. 29 primary By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago The Florida Democratic Party will stick with a Jan. 29 presidential primary even if it means losing all its nominating convention delegates, a party source said Saturday. The Democratic National Committee gave the state party until Sept. 29 to come up with an alternative delegate selection plan to stay within party rules, such as caucuses or a vote-by-mail primary, but party leadership has rejected that idea. State party Chairman Karen Thurman, members of the congressional delegation and state legislative leaders were scheduling a news...

Democratic activist sues over loss of Florida delegatesTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS TAMPA, Fla. -- A Tampa Democratic activist sued the national and state Democratic parties in federal court Thursday over the national party's decision to strip Florida of its delegates for next year's presidential nominating convention. Seeking to penalize Florida for moving up its primary election to Jan. 29, the Democratic National Committee's rules committee voted Saturday to take away Florida's 210 votes in the national nominating convention in Denver next summer. Political consultant Victor DiMaio, who serves on the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee, claims in his lawsuit that the...

Florida decided to change its primary date to January 29th. Democrat Party rules say that the states can't hold their primaries before February 5th, except for Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. This was designed to "preserve the traditional roles" of selecting nominees. On Saturday, Democrats decided to strip Florida of all of its presidential convention delegates unless it changed its date. This means that the fourth largest state (210 delegates) would not have votes for the 2008 nominating convention in Denver next summer. The state party has been given 30 days to comply by moving the primary after...

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to strip Florida of all its presidential convention delegates, threatening to leave the state without a voice in choosing the party's 2008 nominee, unless it delays the date of its primary election. The ultimatum marks party leaders' most drastic attempt yet to impose order among states that have been trying to elbow their balloting closer to the front of the election cycle. Three months ago, Florida controversially set its primary for Jan. 29.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) Saturday gave the Florida Democratic Party 30 days to submit a new plan for a primary or caucus or lose all of its delegates to the nominating convention. Adopting a resolution offered by committeeman Ralph Dawson of New York, the DNC’s rules and bylaws committee all but ignored the pleas of the Florida party and voted almost unanimously to strip the state of all its delegates unless it offers a new plan that meets DNC rules. The state ran afoul of the committee’s new primary rules when it decided to adhere to a new state...

The Democratic National Committee sought to seize control of its unraveling nominating process yesterday, rejecting pleas from state party leaders and cracking down on Florida for scheduling a Jan. 29 presidential primary. The DNC's rules and bylaws committee, which enforces party rules, voted yesterday morning to strip Florida of all its delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver -- the harshest penalty at its disposal...

<p>WASHINGTON | The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to refuse to seat any Florida Democrat at the 2008 presidential convention if the state party did not delay its primary.</p> <p>The committee gave Florida Democrats 30 days to propose a primary date that conformed with Democratic rules prohibiting all but four states from holding their primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5.</p>

For hours today, the second-floor conference room in Washington's Capitol Hilton could have been a meeting of lawyers for insurance companies with individuals reporting on their plans and activities state by state. But then at 11:20 came what everyone had been waiting for: It was Florida's turn to report to the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee. And as The Times' Bob Drogin fully reports here on this website and in Sunday's print editions, the committee lowered the boom on the defiant state party that violated rules by moving its primary election ahead of Feb. 5. As...

The Democratic Party has taken a swipe at the nation's fourth biggest state, stripping Florida of all of its '08 delegates as punishment for jumping the gun with its primary, which is forcing other states to crowd Christmas in the quest to be first. Under a vote taken moments ago by a powerful committee of the Democratic National Committee, if things don’t change, Florida’s primary on Jan. 29 will be a "beauty contest" — the delegates won’t count toward the party’s presidential nomination. Florida officials complained they were being "disenfranchised," but the DNC strongly pushes back against that contention, since...

Florida Democrats Stripped of Convention Delegates Due to Early Primary Saturday , August 25, 2007 AP WASHINGTON — Democrats decided Saturday to strip Florida of all its presidential convention delegates unless the state holds its primary later in the 2008 election calendar. The punishment would leave the fourth largest state without a vote for the nominee. The state party has 30 days to comply by moving its contest back at least seven days from the current Jan. 29 plan or lose its 210 delegates to the nominating convention in Denver next summer. The state party chairwoman, Karen Thurman, said she...

The punishment for a one-week change in the date of Florida's primary election could leave Democratic voters stuck holding a worthless ballot. Democrats from Florida are squaring up for a battle with their national party leadership. On Saturday, the Democratic National Committee will consider punishing Florida, saying the state is holding its primary election too early. The national Democrats say Florida broke a Democratic party rule when the Republican-controlled Legislature moved up the state's primary. Earlier this year, Florida's legislature moved up the state's primary to January 29th. But a national Democratic party rule says, except for a handful of...

Florida Dems Face Penalty for Early Vote Democratic Party Poised to Strip Florida of Nomination Votes Because of Early Primary By NEDRA PICKLER The Associated Press WASHINGTON Once again, Florida is embroiled in a dispute over vote counting in the presidential election. Seven years after Democrats lost a fight over recounting Florida votes in the disputed 2000 election, the national Democratic Party is poised to strip the state of delegate votes in the 2008 nomination battle. The problem: State Democrats want to hold their primary too early. Other states are rushing to get to the start of the primaries pack,...