Florida and Michigan Again?

Cost might be a problem, particularly when thinking about finding the money for the Presidential and Congressional elections in November.

This from AP.

Cost a Hurdle for Mich., Fla. Do-Overs
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The biggest stumbling block to doing over the Democratic primaries in Michigan and Florida may be the cost.

Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer estimates it would cost the state party $8 million to $12 million to set up party-run election sites and allow voting by mail or over the Internet.

Florida Democrats could be facing even higher costs.

During a meeting Wednesday night among House Democrats from Florida and Michigan, Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida relayed estimates that another primary would cost the state between $22 million and $24 million, a vote-by-mail contest would cost at least $8 million and the bill for a caucus would be about $4 million, said Hastings spokesman David Goldenberg.

Michigan and Florida both held January primaries but were stripped of their delegates for breaking Democratic National Committee rules by moving their contests to earlier dates. The national committee has suggested that the two states hold another round of presidential contests that would meet party rules and allow their delegates to be seated.

But with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a tight race for the nomination, setting up new elections isn't so simple. Clinton won both states' primaries, but all the Democratic candidates agreed not to campaign in either state, and Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan.

Negotiations over what kind of do-over contests would be held and how they would be set up have been contentious. Neither side wants to give the other a possible advantage.

The state parties could pay for the contests by raising money from major Democratic donors. Under the law, state parties can collect so-called soft money — donations of unlimited amounts — to cover the costs of elections.

The type of donors who have the deep pockets needed, however, have already taken sides in the Democratic contest and would probably look for signals from the respective campaigns as to whether to help the states out.

Clinton has said repeatedly that the Michigan and Florida delegations should be seated. Some of her supporters — including Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm — have begun talking about holding a do-over election, but Clinton backers aren't completely in sync on whether to have another election.

Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, has called for a new Florida primary, although he thinks the national party should pay for it. But Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz says another election would be too expensive.

"The potential of a do-over is slim to none," said Wasserman Schultz, a national co-chair of Clinton's campaign. "The cost of a do-over is beyond reach. A do-over would be unfair. We still have nerves that are very raw from the 2000 recount in Florida."

"There isn't the capacity in the state party here to raise the $18 to $20 million to rerun the primary," Wasserman Schultz added.

Obama has not been as open to having Florida and Michigan vote again, even though he could do well in Michigan, where his supporters couldn't cast ballots for him in the primary.

"Hillary Clinton has been very competitive, and she's won her fair share of states. But to say, `Now I have a little momentum, you should count Florida and Michigan' ... that doesn't appear to be fair to Obama," said state Sen. Tupac Hunter of Detroit, one of three Obama co-chairs in Michigan. "If you change the rules midstream, you have a situation where it can be perceived as giving one candidate something over another unfairly."

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who pushed for moving up Michigan's primary but has not endorsed a candidate, issued a statement Friday in which he said that he "doesn't see at this time a practical and fair way to hold a do-over election in Michigan given the immense financial and logistical hurdles."

DNC Chairman Howard Dean earlier this week ruled out the national organization paying for do-over elections, because the national party needs its money for the general election.

"The rules were set a year and a half ago," Dean said Thursday. "Florida and Michigan voted for them, then decided that they didn't need to abide by the rules."

Republican Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said Thursday he would sign a bill for a new Democratic primary — legislation is needed — but only if it was a last resort and only if the national party pays for it. But that seems unlikely, given Dean's insistence that he won't pay.

Michigan party chairman Brewer said he won't ask the state of Michigan to pay for another election. Asked where he'd get the money, Brewer replied, "We'd have to go out and raise it."

Possible donors could be unions or wealthy Democrats such as George Soros of Westchester, N.Y., or Jon Stryker of Kalamazoo, Mich.

But the efforts could sap money the parties had planned to use to help Democratic candidates in November and to get out the vote for the presidential nominee.

"There's only so much money," Brewer said.