Tomorrow's Texas Two-Step Primary-Caucus

Here's what happens:

1. Texas registered voters vote in the primary either early or on Tuesday March 4 (tomorrow)
2. Voters who voted in the primary are then allowed to vote in the Tuesday Caucus at 7pm after the polls close

Texas uses a "primacus" system brought about after the 1968 Dem convention in Chicago as a reform called the "McGovern rules".

• Texas will send 228 delegates to this year's Democratic National Convention in Denver. Of those delegates, 126 will be assigned to vote for candidates based on election results.
• An additional 35 will be superdelegates, made up mostly of high-ranking officials, who may back whichever candidate they choose.
• The remaining 67 delegates will be chosen through the caucus system -- with 42 being rank-and-file Democrats and 25 being party leaders and elected officials, according to a Lone Star Project report.

If a precinct has 10 delegates and 50 people show up -- with 30 for Clinton and 20 for Barack Obama -- then six delegates for Clinton and four for Obama will move on to the senatorial convention. That's why volunteers for Clinton and Obama will not only be pushing locals to vote -- but also to show up for the caucus on election night. "There are thousands of precinct conventions that will elect 25 percent of the delegates without respect to the primary results," said Jason Smith, a Clinton volunteer in Tarrant County.... (Star Telegram)

If you are an independent voter in Texas and would like to connect with other independents, go to Independent Texans or independentvoting.org -- Tell them The Hankster sent you!