Recently Kos wrote a diary stating that us Michiganders should vote for Mitt in the Republican primary just to screw around with them. Well, you all are more then welcome to do that but I’m voting for a Democrat.
As you probably know, the Michigan Democratic Party decided they they were sick of the oh so diverse states of Iowa and New Hampshire setting the tone for the primaries, that they decided to move Michigan’s primary date up to Jan. 15th. The DNC didn’t like that much so they threatened to take away our delegates if we didn’t move back to Feb. Well, we didn’t move (although IA, NH moved up past us so it didn’t matter anyways) and in a sign of good faith to the Democratic Party, John Edwards and Barack Obama took their names off the ballot in Michigan. Hillary didn’t. Kucinich tried to but supposedly filled out the wrong paperwork.
So, faced with the possibility that we may not not lose our delegates since Iowa and New Hampshire moved up, supporters of a candidate not named Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, or Mike Gravel have a problem.
One option is to do as Kos says and vote in the Republican primary to screw with them. Or you can do as I will, and many others will, and VOTE UNCOMMITTED.
If the candidate, "uncommitted", gets 15% or more of the vote Michigan will send uncommitted delegates to the convention in August. They obviously may not go to the candidate you want but they won’t go to Hillary.
That’s our only option to have a say in this election, if you are not supporting Hillary. It will also create quite a news story if Hillary is heavily contested by or beaten by "uncommitted".
Also, there is the option for a write in candidate on the ballot. Do not fill that out because your vote will not be counted. They were not able to print ballots without that option on them before the 15th.
So if you support Barack Obama or John Edwards, this Tuesday please vote uncommitted!
Other reading:
Group helps get out the vote for the unnamed
Delegate Selection Plan (PDF)