| Jamie Dupree |
Florida Looks at Mail-In Primary; Michigan Unclear
The idea of a mail-in ballot won the approval of Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean, who said on Face the Nation on CBS Sunday that, "It's not a bad way to do this."
Dean has said there is no way the DNC will help pay for a Replay Primary in Florida, leaving that cost to the state Democratic party.
Engineering a conventional primary could cost as much as $25 million or more, which is obviously a bit more than the Florida Democrats have in their bank account at this point.
While Florida might take the US Postal Service Route, evidently there may be some legal hurdles in Michigan to a primary do-over, as Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) said on ABC's This Week that a replay primary might be against current state election law.
Michigan and Florida could still have a caucus as well, but it's an option that party leaders haven't warmed to in either state.
With over 300 delegates at stake in those two states, there have been growing calls in recent days to find some way to make sure those delegates are seated by a process that meets the Democratic Party's rules.
As of now, the final scheduled event for Democrats is a June 1 primary in Puerto Rico, where 55 delegates are up for grabs.
It's thought that Florida and Michigan would wait to hold any contest until after Puerto Rico.






