The Democratic primary election rules punish states that conduct their primary elections and caucuses earlier than Super Tuesday by denying their delegates from attending and having their votes counted towards selecting the Democratic presidential nominee. Michigan and Florida are two states with significant numbers of delegates, who are so denied.
Now, with the Dem presidential race so close, and neither candidate being able to accumulate enough pledged delegates to become the nominee, the DNC has a dilemma. Florida’s Republican governor, Republican controlled state senate, and Republican controlled house refuse to pay for a Dem primary do-over. It would be up to the DNC whether they want to fund a $20M Dem primary do-over in Florida. If they do not, millions of Florida voters will be disenfranchised. A similar situation exists for Michigan. Hillary Clinton won the primaries for both of these states, although Barack Obama was not even listed on the Michigan ballot.
The interesting thing with Florida being a key swing state (as was undeniable for G.W. Bush’s victory in 2000) is that should Florida voters be disenfranchised by the Democratic party, there could be a voter backlash, which could result in a significant shift in votes in favor of the Republican nominee, John McCain.
The Democratic party appears to be faced with quite a dilemma. A do-over would cost $20+M and take away funds from the Presidential campaign towards the general election. It would also back down from punishing early primaries, which would result in more states breaking the rules in the future. However, without a do-over the disenfranchisement of millions of voters could backfire catastrophically on the Democratic candidate in the general election.
