Vote "uncommitted": It was projected that, if "uncommitted" were to get at least 15 percent of the primary vote, there would have to be "a separate delegate selection meeting to determine who the uncommitted delegates should represent," according to Mark Maynard, who cited the following from the Washtenaw Dems in his blog:

The 2008 Michigan Primary will be on Tuesday, January 15th. Voters registered before December 17, 2007 are eligible to vote.

You will cast your vote in your usual polling place. If you need information, please go to the Washtenaw Votes website. At the polling place you will be asked for identification in order to vote, but if you do not have ID, you will be asked to sign an affidavit, and are still eligible to vote.

On this Democratic primary ballot the candidates are: Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd (has withdrawn from race), Mike Gravel, and Dennis Kucinich. There are also lines for uncommitted and for write-in candidates. If you want to vote for Barack Obama or John Edwards you must vote the "UNCOMMITTED" line! NO WRITE-IN VOTES WILL BE COUNTED FOR ANY CANDIDATES!

If "uncommitted" gets at least 15% of the vote, there will be one or more delegates elected at the Congressional District Convention which will take place on March 29th, 2008. In order to be eligible to vote at the Congressional District Convention, you must be a member of the Michigan Democratic Party. To join, go to Michigan Dems dotcom and then to the membership tab. If you want to be eligible to influence who is elected as uncommitted delegates, join the MDP and attend your Congressional District Convention!

Campaigning to lose: The Denver Post reported January 10, 2008, that Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, both Obama supporters, produced and aired campaign ads urging voters to cast 'uncommitted' ballots in Michigan's Democratic presidential primary:

MALE: THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS CONFUSING. I WANT TO VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA BUT OBAMA'S NAME IS NOT ON THE BALLOT.

FEMALE: THERE IS NO ONE ON THAT BALLOT I WANT TO BE PRESIDENT.

MALE: WELL, THESE FOLKS CAN HELP US. EXCUSE ME, CONGRESSMAN CONYERS AND COUNCILWOMAN CONYERS, WE NEED YOUR HELP.

FEMALE: HOW CAN WE VOTE FOR OBAMA ON TUESDAY?

Rep. Conyers: YOU CAN'T. YOU CANNOT EVEN WRITE IN OBAMA'S NAME. IF YOU DO YOUR VOTE WILL NOT COUNT BECAUSE OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN CHOSE NOT TO PLACE HIS NAME ON THE MICHIGAN BALLOT SO AS NOT TO VIOLATE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY RULES. BUT YOU CAN VOTE UNCOMMITTED

Councilwoman Conyers: IF AT LEAST 15% OF THE PEOPLE VOTE UNCOMMITTED, THE STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY MUST SEND THAT PERCENTAGE OF DELEGATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION UNCOMMITTED.

Rep. Conyers: MY WIFE AND I ARE VOTING UNCOMMITTED. WE WILL WORK WITH THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO MAKE SURE THAT UNCOMMITTED DELEGATES GO TO THAT CONVENTION TRULY UNCOMMITTED SO THAT OBAMA CAN COMPETE FOR THEIR VOTE.

MALE: THANK YOU CONGRESSMAN CONYERS AND COUNCILWOMAN CONYERS. I WILL JOIN YOU AND VOTE UNCOMMITTED ON TUESDAY.

FEMALE: ME TOO - AT LEAST MY VOTE WON'T BE WASTED

Councilwoman Conyers: THIS TRUTH IN POLITICS MESSAGE WAS PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF MONICA CONYERS

Early warning: Lynda Waddington's October 2007 report was confirmed January 10, 2008, by Nick Bunkley, who wrote in the New York Times' The Caucus blog that the Conyers urged voters "to vote 'uncommitted' to help them gain momentum and to deal a setback" to Sen. Clinton." New groups, including Michiganders for Obama, Michigan for Edwards and the newly formed Detroiters for Uncommitted Voters, "campaign[ed] door-to-door, on the phone and at rallies, spreading the uncommitted message."

Campaigning or not?: On January 14, 2008, the day prior to the Michigan primary, the Detroit News reported

The Obama and Edwards campaigns are urging voters to opt for "uncommitted." ... Sen. Buzz Thomas, D-Detroit, co-chairman of the Obama campaign in Michigan, said there is no organized effort to push the uncommitted vote here.

He said word of mouth and letters to the editor are the main methods of communication he's using to reach Obama supporters. He said he knows of no phone banks set up to coax uncommitted voters to the polls in the last two days.

This raises the question of whether or not Sen. Obama was actually running a political campaign in Michigan through surrogates pressing for an "uncommitted" vote, particularly when it is clear that, contrary to what Michigan Sen. Thomas stated, there was an "organized effort to push the uncommitted vote" in Michigan.  

It also raises the question as to whether those who were voting "uncommitted" understood that they were being used as pawns in a political game that skirted on the edge of FEC rules on what constitutes electioneering.

These questions appear to not have been raised. They certainly have not been answered.