On Tuesday, one votes for the candidate of one’s choice — with Obama, Clinton, and Edwards, and “uncommitted” on the ballot. Then you vote for the delegates whom you’d like to see go to the convention in support of that candidate. You can view a sample ballot and figure out where to vote on the Secretary of State’s website.

The Obama campaign is asking people to support a slate of delegate’s who’ve put in a lot of volunteer time over the last several months. Here’s the list for the first Congressional District. I’ll try to dig up the list for the second.

• Kimberly A. Ahern
• Anya Rader Wallack
• Jeffrey M. Padwa
• Phyllis Stafford
• Kelly C. Taylor
• Joseph M. Fernandez
• Edwin R. Pacheco
• William Rhoades Alderson

In particular, Rep. Ed Pacheco of Burrillville was the first member of the Assembly to come out for Obama, and deserves credit for that.

Also, Herb Weiss has this letter in the Projo, making his case as an uncommitted delegate — though voting for him means that you can’t vote for Clinton or Obama.

TPM has the scoop:

A prominent civil rights leader has told the Democratic National Committee that refusing to seat delegates from Florida and Michigan would disenfranchise both states’ minority communities. In a Feb. 8 letter to DNC Chairman Howard Dean, NAACP chairman Julian Bond expressed “great concern at the prospect that million of voters in Michigan and Florida could ultimately have their votes completely discounted.” Refusing to seat the states’ delegations could remind voters of the “sordid history of racially discriminatory primaries,” he said.

Bradley Portnoy, a junior at Brown and Michigan native, says, “As a nominal resident of Michigan who actually voted in the election and supports Obama, I would at this point feel *more* disenfranchised if the delegates were seated.”

Matt has the info on the mechanisms by which Rhode Island’s delegates to the Democratic Convention will be determined. 40% of the delegates needed to win the Dem nomination aren’t a function of primaries, but are so-called ’super delegates’ — elected officials and party officers and such. It’s a firewall for the party establishment.

In RI and every state, the remainder break down proportionally, based on how many votes candidates receive in the party primaries.

 Chris Barnett from the Secretary of State’s Office wants you to know:

The first 10 days of December hold critical deadlines for presidential candidates and Rhode
Islanders who plan to run for delegate to one of the national political
conventions. For example, Dec. 10 is a crucial date for would-be
delegates. Your readers can find more details on the Secretary State website.