SuperVoters for Obama deliver 2,000 petitions to Gov. Easley

FOR RELEASE - May 13, 2008
Voters for Obama
Contact: Co-organizer Erik Ose, or SuperVoter Susan Baylies, votersforobama@gmail.com

SuperVoters for Obama deliver 2,000 petitions to Gov. Easley
Call for N.C. superdelegates to unite behind Obama



RALEIGH - Costumed SuperVoters for Obama today delivered petitions from 2,000 North Carolina voters to Gov. Easley, asking him to support Barack Obama in his role as a Democratic superdelegate.

"Our costumes may be a little silly, but our message to Gov. Easley and the other N.C. superdelegates is serious," said Erik Ose, one of the co-organizers of Voters for Obama. "On May 6, North Carolina voted for Obama by a large margin, and now it's the superdelegates' turn to act."

"We are Democrats united by our goal to win back the White House in 2008," said fellow SuperVoter Susan Baylies, "and it is time for us to come together behind Barack Obama."

The group announced they had launched an on-line petition calling for all N.C. superdelegates to support Obama's candidacy in the wake of his May 6 N.C. primary win. Democratic and independent voters in North Carolina chose Obama by a 14-point margin. Obama led Hillary Clinton by 222,859 votes, out of more than 1.5 million votes cast.

The petition is available on the group's website, www.supervoters.org.

Gov. Easley endorsed Hillary Clinton a week before the May 6 primary, but Democratic party rules say superdelegates can change their minds anytime they want.

"N.C. Democrats do not want this nomination fight to continue until our convention in late August," said Ose. "The longer it takes for the superdelegates to come together for Obama, the harder it will be for our party to compete in the fall against Republican nominee John McCain."

Obama has a significant lead in delegates won through primaries and caucuses. He has won nearly twice as many contests as Clinton. Since May 9, he has also overtaken Clinton in the superdelegate chase. According to the Associated Press, as of today 285 superdelegates have endorsed Obama versus 271 for Clinton.

"The only way Hillary Clinton could be nominated is if superdelegates overturned the will of voters in both North Carolina and the rest of the nation," said Scott Priz, another costumed SuperVoter on hand to deliver the signed petitions to Gov. Easley's office at the Administration Building on Jones Street.

The last five undeclared N.C. superdelegates are Democratic Reps. Bob Etheridge and Mike McIntyre, and DNC members Muriel Offerman, David Parker, and Carol Peterson, who is also a Buncombe County Commissioner.

Besides Gov. Easley, the other N.C. superdelegates who have previously committed to Hillary Clinton are Charlotte City Council member Susan Burgess, and Rep. Heath Shuler. The remaining nine N.C. superdelegates have announced their support for Obama, including Reps. Butterfield, Miller, Price, and Watt, and N.C. Democratic Party chair Jerry Meek.