My Precinct - All Ron Paul delegates, but Santorum won the vote

So, I've been doing some thinking, and I've come to a bit of a conundrum. In my precinct, the votes were as follows;

16 - Santorum
14 - Paul
4 - Romney
3 - Gengrich

After the voting, we elected our delegates. My son is one, and I'm an alternate. Of the delegates, all are Ron Paul supporters. This is good for Ron Paul, and I'm happy about this.

Now, for the conundrum I talk about. If we were to do things "by the book" and vote the "will of the people" (that's what this is supposed to be about, right?), if I'm called, I should cast my vote for Santorum, since he won the vote. However, if I do that, I'd be voting for someone I didn't vote for.

My son, who is a HUGE Ron Paul supporter, and even got up and spoke to everyone in the building prior to busting up into precincts, is also having this issue. He's 18, and this is his first time around doing any of this. He's been voted all the way through the process and will be at the County and State meetings to be a delegate.

So, should we vote Ron Paul, which would be a vote against the people in our precinct, or should we cast our votes with the will of the people, and put our hand up for Santorum? I'd like to see other people's thoughts on this.

Do you feel like the process has been fair so far? Sure those numbers reflect the "will of the people" but spending 5 min on this site might make you think those numbers are a fabrication by a puppet master committee. Quite a conundrum.

Divide the votes up by a rounded % of the popular votes.

I'll prolly get crap for this, but no-where in the rules do they say you have to pledge your vote for Santorum in Colorado because of a straw poll. Looks like Paul was 2 votes behind Santorum anyway, so if your conscience is bugging you about it, you can rest easy knowing Paul would end up with a lot of delegates in that precinct anyway. If Santorum people voted in or became Santorum delegates, he would get more delegates. If he chose not to educate his caucus goers on how to caucus, too bad so sad. It is what it is.

Force them to count openly and video tape that!!! Every voter needs to bring a recording device and record the votes.

Vote for who you wish to vote for. Only good can come from it. For example, by voting Ron Paul, a good man who has probably been screwed over anyways gets the mark and it may lead to him getting the nod. Or, you vote for Ron Paul, and people are upset about the electoral college and actually brings about change to where popular vote will reign supreme in this land and it will ultimately be harder for the powers that be to corrupt the system.

Remember, we are a republic with "democratic" voting. You were elected, so vote your conscience. Remember that republics often go against the will of the people. Not your fault that the system was set up this way. The support of the candidate is also an important consideration. Where were the other candidates supporters when he needed them? The other candidates know the rules full well. It shows something when they can get the vote and not the delegates. Perhaps, this is why the process is setup as it is.

If the process were fair to begin with, votes would be properly counted, documented, transparent.. and the will of the people would come through. Seeing as there is so much fraud going on, I'm not sure what's right or wrong anymore. You have a tough decision to make.

My question is this; Where are the people who are willing to be delegates for Santorum????? If he's got so many votes, fans and 1st place wins, where are his supporters??? Do so few people care enough for a Santorum domination? I just don't understand how someone can win the majority of votes, yet be unable to gather enough supporters to have fair amount of representation. It makes no sense to me.

vote for the good doctor

santorum is not who you want representing your people

are u sure he actually won and this isnt another fraudulent county? positive no vote tampering?

paul was only what 2 votes behind, wouldnt be the biggest upset, its not like he was 50% behind from your peoples vote

maybe at the least keep it proportional? if many other delegates from your state turn to santorum or romney you can easily vote paul because your representing a proportion that otherwise wouldnt be represented

when do the delegates have to declare their vote?

reply to post by 2manyquestions


Complacent voters just follow the trend. This is why we have been having the surges. They feel good about voting; and, they vote for whoever they think will win, without paying attention to the issues. On the other hand, those that are paying attention are ready to fight for their candidate.

Sounds like you have slipped into one of the grey areas of the electoral process. If your vote is the will of the people then it should be the will of the people making the vote and not you. Instead it is you making the vote guided by the will of the people. This does seam to be quite a common problem for all politicians, in the end most of them just do what they want or are forced to do.

The US electoral process does appear to be quite a messy and hard game with many issues in the grey area exploited and diverted against the common will. It is great you are aware of a conflict of interest and looking for advice. My advice is get use to it if you want a life in politics. Good luck with your decision.

reply to post by navy_vet_stg3


Hmm hard choice. If you vote Santorum and he wins, Iran most probably will be nuked ASAP. If 4 years of major wars for the U.S is what you want, he is your man.

On the other hand...

Look we know there is fraud going on, so the will of the people has ben compromised, Ron Paul precincts getting denied, cauceses cancelled, votes becoming missing, romney and santorum 'deciding' the vote totals, diebold and electronic vote manipulation, by voting your conscience, you are voting for the will of the people.

reply to post by navy_vet_stg3


How many delegates does a precinct with a total of 37 votes get?

In reality...the precinct delegates won't be voting for a candidate...they'll be voting for another delegate. The honest thing to do is to represent the people you call neighbors and vote according to the precinct. If there is one delegate for your precinct...I would say that means voting for a Santorum delegate. If you have two with the vote that close...I see no reason why you couldn't split the vote one for Santorum and one for Ron Paul.


At the end of the day...you and your son have to live with your decision. I see some say that they don't think the process has been fair to Ron Paul so you should vote for whoever you want. But you must ask yourself if you want to be just like those that you think aren't being fair. Also ask yourself if you think there was any fraud in your own precinct? Do you think your neighbors deserve having their votes overturned just because some think that the GOP party is being unfair to Ron Paul?



And Ron Paul supporters in this thread...can you really cry about their being fraud when you are actively advising this person to go against the will of the people...his own neighbors...because of something you think the larger organization of the GOP is doing???

reply to post by navy_vet_stg3


If you support Ron Paul and believe he is the best choice of the bunch then you should do what you feel is best for our failing country. I believe Ron Paul could be a light shining at the end of a long dark tunnel of tyranny and corruption in this country. Ron Paul is fighting the good fight and doing a great job but is up against huge odds (TPTB) and it seems along the way of these caucuses and primaries that he's been getting shafted by the media and the votes being tallied have seemed tampered with or not counted in some of these recent past elections. You are in a position at this point to cast your vote and really make it count. I sincerely hope you do not wast the opportunity to vote for Ron Paul ( non-puppet) by voting for Santorum (puppet). I think this will be the most important presidential election of all time in my opinion and we need to get Ron Paul elected President.

Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by navy_vet_stg3

 

How many delegates does a precinct with a total of 37 votes get?

In reality...the precinct delegates won't be voting for a candidate...they'll be voting for another delegate. The honest thing to do is to represent the people you call neighbors and vote according to the precinct. If there is one delegate for your precinct...I would say that means voting for a Santorum delegate. If you have two with the vote that close...I see no reason why you couldn't split the vote one for Santorum and one for Ron Paul.


At the end of the day...you and your son have to live with your decision. I see some say that they don't think the process has been fair to Ron Paul so you should vote for whoever you want. But you must ask yourself if you want to be just like those that you think aren't being fair.

I almost never agree with OutKast, but if we want to be fair and if you are 100% sure that the vote count is what they say it is, ... then splitting the vote between two delegates (as OutKast suggests) is actually not a bad idea. We really don't want to be like all the cheaters and liars out there...... though I do understand the frustration with the unfair process. This is a mess for sure.

When you ran for delegate, what were you expecting to do? Vote for the precinct winner? Then to be true to yourself that's the way you should vote.

reply to post by navy_vet_stg3


This is the last place you should come to try and answer that question.

reply to post by navy_vet_stg3


If you can't do the job of a delegate...which is to vote the will of the people, then don't be one.

*EDIT* Same goes for all politicians though...

And just because the system *may* be corrupt, doesn't make it okay for you to be too.

reply to post by navy_vet_stg3


Is it the will of the people or is it the will of the GOP? Can you really trust the vote tallies? Think about what happened in Iowa and Maine. If it were me, I would vote for Ron Paul hands down. He's the only candidate that has a plan to get this country back on track. He's the only candidate that hasn't flip flopped to gain votes or catered to a particular segment of voters.

Step back and honestly ask yourself if the media and the GOP hasn't limited the coverage of Ron Paul and his plans to get the U.S. economy back on track. Why would they do such a thing, if it wasn't to keep the majority of the electorates in the dark. Why do they call Paul Supporters crazy, and dangerous? They're steering the population of voters against him because the system doesn't want to lose their power and control. He's against everything they stand for. Wouldn't you want to be part of changing this country and humanity for the better? If you want more of the same, vote Santorum. If you feel enough is enough and the only way to change the course of this country, than vote Paul.

There's a reason why you support Ron Paul. Vote your conscience.