Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are in a tight race for the Democratic nomination in which Michigan and Florida could give either candidate a decisive boost. As it stands now, the Democratic Party has disqualified the results in both states because they violated party rules by holding elections early in the campaign season.

Clinton won both states and wants the results added to her tally. Obama's campaign argues that such an outcome amounts to changing the rules late in the game, saying it would shatter the party.

One alternative mentioned now by the Florida Democratic Party is a vote-by-mail election, under which ballots would be mailed in May or June to all of Florida's 4.7 million registered Democrats. The cost would be $4 million to $6 million, and the state party would want to be reimbursed, a party official said.

The Florida party would be open to accepting a "soft-money" contribution from, say, a wealthy donor, union or other source to underwrite the cost, the official said yesterday. Also, Florida Democrats would want commitments from the Obama and Clinton camps that the two would campaign in the state.

In a statement, Karen L. Thurman, the Florida Democratic Party chair, said the party was hashing out alternatives with representatives of both campaigns and the Democratic National Committee.

One possibility that Florida's Republican Gov. Charlie Crist said he would not support is another full-scale primary underwritten by Florida taxpayers. A Crist spokesman said that the cost would be $25 million, and that the state would not be willing to pay it.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) sent a letter yesterday to Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean laying out a suggestion: Florida would run another primary, but the national party would underwrite the costs.

As they bargain, officials are protecting the interests of their favorite candidates. Nelson has endorsed Clinton. In his letter, he said he would support a new primary election, but not a caucus. Clinton tends to struggle in states that hold caucuses, while faring better in primaries.

Dean said yesterday that he would like to see Florida and Michigan hold new contests. But he said the national party would not pick up the tab.

Each state has two options, Dean said. One is to come back to the DNC with a new delegate selection plan that complies with party rules. The other is to appeal to a 186-member credentials committee at the August convention to allow the two states' delegates to be seated.

With no consensus in sight, some officials said it was time to convene a committee of party elders. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D., Mo.) said he was so worried about Democratic infighting that he was urging Dean to appoint such a panel to recommend a strategy to resolve the disputes. Members might include former President Jimmy Carter and former Vice Presidents Walter Mondale and Al Gore.

Clinton yesterday said she was still committed to seating the two states' delegations but would wait to see what proposals were put forward. Obama said the DNC should decide how to settle the dispute.