The tight race between Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama has raised interest in the delegation process for this year's election.

Many suspect the nomination won't be decided until delegates cast their votes at the Democratic National Convention held Aug. 25-28 in Denver, said Lowell Greenbaum, a former Georgia Democratic delegate and the chairman of the Richmond County Democratic Party.

"It definitely looks likes we'll have two candidates running for the nomination in August," Dr. Greenbaum said. "This is such a tight race we'll have a situation that could lead to four or five ballots (deciding the nomination)."

This year's election has incited more excitement than usual, Dr. Greenbaum said, which he says correlates with more people being interested in casting their votes as delegates.

To further explain the process, he provided some answers:

Q: How are the number of delegates decided?

A: The number of delegates selected for each state is based on the population of that state, voting trends from previous elections and how voters voted in the presidential primaries.

Q: How do you become a Democratic delegate?

A: There are two ways for nonparty leaders to become delegates:

1. Being voted for as a district-level delegate. Party members must file a statement of candidacy and a pledge of support by April 4 to become a delegate candidate. Democratic voters in each district can vote April 19 in the congressional district caucus to decide who will become district-level delegates. A popular vote will determine the winner for each delegate seat.

2. Being voted for as an at-large delegate. The same process takes place, except a state committee decides who will become the delegates. Those interested must file their statement of candidacy and pledge of support for a particular presidential candidate by May 5. The state committee votes for the at-large delegates May 24.

Q: What will the delegates do once they get to the convention?

A: The delegates act as cheerleaders for the candidates they support throughout the weeklong convention. They also place their votes for who should become the candidate. There will be 3,353 delegates and 796 superdelegates casting their votes at the convention. The winning candidate must garner 2,025 votes to win the nomination.

Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.