Fixing Florida and Michigan

On May 31st the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee will decide what to do with contested Florida and Michigan delegations. The draconian move of stripping all their delegates created a political nightmare for the Democratic party. If they had been smart they would have followed the Republican party's lead and only deducted half of their delegates.

It would be unfair to fully honor the results of the uncontested elections since no one was allowed to campaign, but it is impossible to have a new vote. A solution must be found using the results of the renegade primaries. I recommend instating the pledged delegations as they now stand but giving each delegate only half a vote. The DNC already uses half-vote delegates. (Delegates from American territories like American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico only get half a vote.)

The voters in Florida and Michigan should not be punished, but the party officials who caused this nightmare should. In addition to instating the pledge delegates, the DNC should strip the states of all their superdelegates. It was the elected officials and party leaders in Florida and Michigan who violated the rules, and they should pay the price for it.