July 16, 2008
South Carolina voters will get an unusual chance to help shape the future of the Democratic Party —and to provide advice to its presumptive presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama — later this month.
The state Democratic Party will hold a "Listening to America" platform meeting beginning at 10 a.m. July 26 in Columbia.
The event, which will be held at the University of South Carolina's School of Law auditorium, is free and is expected to last about two hours.
Anyone may attend, but those who plan to speak will be limited to 5 minutes each and are asked to register by 5 p.m. July 24.
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler said that the national party has held regional forums in the past, but this might be the first time so many have been held.
The July 26 meeting should excite state voters "who may feel that their voices weren't heard in previous years," Fowler said.
"This time, the Democratic Party is opening it up more, and they have said one meeting in every state is not too many. When we heard that, we decided we would go ahead and have one here," Fowler said.
"I have no idea of whether we'll have five people or 500 people who want to have input on our platform, but we'll welcome them."
