Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - Hispanic Lawmakers Call for Votes to Count in Florida and Michigan

Washington, DC - Fourteen Hispanic Members of Congress sent the following letter today to the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee urging them to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations at the Convention in Denver. The members stress that disregarding the votes cast by hundreds of thousands of Hispanics in Florida and Michigan, particularly in Florida, which is home to 1.1 million Hispanic voters, could be detrimental to the Democratic presidential nominee's success in November.

May 16, 2008

The Honorable Alexis Herman

Mr. James Roosevelt, Jr.

Co-Chairs, Rules and Bylaws Committee

Democratic National Committee

430 S. Capitol St., SE

Washington, DC 20003

Dear Secretary Herman and Mr. Roosevelt:

As Hispanic members of Congress, we are writing to express our great concern that millions of Hispanic voters in Michigan and Florida could ultimately have their votes completely discounted if they are not assigned delegate representation for the Democratic National Convention.

As with voters across the board, a record number of Hispanics have turned out and voted in this year's presidential primaries. According to a recent study by NDN, the number of Hispanics voting in the Democratic primaries this year has more than tripled from 2004 to 2008.

The high turnout from Hispanic voters was evident in the Florida and Michigan primaries. Twelve percent - or 210,000 - of the votes cast in the Florida Democratic primary were by Hispanics. Although not large in comparison to other states, Hispanic voters in Michigan are energized and growing fast in number. Disregarding the votes cast by hundreds of thousands of Hispanics - and all voters - in these states could ultimately prove detrimental to our party's efforts in November, particularly in Florida, which is home to 1.1 million Hispanic voters and critical to our presidential nominee's success.

We urge you to consider the historic turnout among Hispanic voters this year and resolve this situation in a manner that respects the votes cast by all voters. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Senator Robert Menendez (NJ)

Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32)

Congressman Joe Baca (CA-43)

Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28)

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15)

Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (CA-38)

Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz (TX-27)

Congressman Ed Pastor (AZ-4)

Congressman Silvestre Reyes (TX-16)

Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (TX-23)

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)

Congressman Jose Serrano (NY-16)

Congressman Albio Sires (NJ-13)

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (NY-12)