Expatriate Dems set to choose delegates

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 10 (UPI) -- A group of U.S. Democrats who live abroad are set to convene in Vancouver, British Columbia, to choose their delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

The Detroit News reported Thursday that the Democrats Abroad will have 11 votes at the Denver convention. Their votes will be divided among 22 people, giving each delegate a half-vote.

While Democrats abroad make their delegate decisions Friday, Democrats in Michigan so far remain cut out of the national convention because their state held its primary earlier than national party rules allow.

"The people of Michigan were disenfranchised by a stupid decision," said Robert Bragar, 55, a lawyer and chairman of Democrats Abroad Netherlands, who planned to cast his half-vote for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. "The decision has its consequences."

Michigan Democratic Party officials have remained reticent on talks with the Democratic National Committee to seat Michigan's 156 delegates this summer.

"There are a lot of different options," said Liz Kerr, spokeswoman for the Michigan Democratic Party. "What we don't want are people from Michigan outside the convention protesting. That's not in anybody's interest."