Slog - Comments on Confused About the Caucuses?

Comment by Cato the Younger Younger

Cato the Younger Younger — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:58:16 -0800

All I know is that I go to Eiskten Middle School on 75th on Saturday at 1 pm. I assume they will teach us newbees how to caucus for Obama.

Comment by annie

annie — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:07:57 -0800

An undeserved promotion, Eli--I was only a delegate.

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:23:04 -0800

Now if someone could give as intelligent an explanation of the primary ballot that's sitting on my table. Unfortunately, no one can, because there isn't one.

Comment by Paulus

Paulus — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:24:22 -0800

She's definitely worth a click.

Comment by Julie

Julie — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:46:57 -0800

I live in Illinois and, while our primary is definitley not as confusing as your whole caucus/primary thing, am currently in a bit of a dust-up with a local paper about their description of the voting process:

"Who can vote in Tuesday's primary? Any registered voter who has declared a party can vote in the primary in Illinois. Illinois is a state where you must declare your party (Democratic, Green, Republican, or nonpartisan) before voting. The deadline to register to vote for the primary was Jan. 8th.."

I think it implies that you have to declare a party before election day. But, in reality, you declare at the polling place, on election day. I'm worried that many first time voters will be confused and think they can't vote since they are not a member of a party.

The paper says it's technically correct and doesn't want to print a clarification. Is this description confusing to anyone else?

Comment by Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:06:53 -0800

If you live in Seattle's 43rd Legislative District, visit http://www.43rddems.org/2008Caucuses.aspx for all your caucus information needs. Scroll down for the final caucus location list.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:10:39 -0800

Thanks, Stephanie! And if you just recently moved or are turning 18 by Nov 2008, you might want to show up at the caucus location EARLY just in case.

Comment by Alan

Alan — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:22:11 -0800

@5, yes, it is confusing and technically correct. I misread it the first time to mean you have to declare on Jan 8th. If the paper's intention is to discourage new voters, then they've done their job.

Comment by Julie

Julie — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:50:57 -0800

@8... thanks, that's what I thought too. Technically correct, but easily misunderstood, especially by new voters (18-30 year olds happen to be the primary demographic for this paper).

I talked to the reporter again and she was planning on re-running the same info tomorrow, anyways, so said she will revise the description.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:05:11 -0800

And if you moved, you can change your voter reg at the caucus location .... provided you are ALREADY a registered voter.

But please show up earlier than 1 pm if that's the case, be nice to everyone else, ok?

Comment by Barak

Barak — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:34:02 -0800

A big issue I haven't seen yet is how much time will caucusing take.

From the FAQ at www.wa-democrats.org looks like you'll be able to sign in, write your vote next to your name, and leave. Your vote will still be counted.

Comment by annie

annie — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:47:22 -0800

@10: Will, please stop misinforming people. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE REGISTERED TO VOTE before attending a caucus, but you must be eligible to vote in November 2008. In case your precinct site runs out of voter registration materials, it's a good idea to print out your own. A PDF can be obtained here.

@11: If you are caucusing for Clinton or Obama, your initial sign in will probably toward delegate selection--but contact your PCO when you get there and let them know the situation. If you are signing in as Gravel or uncommitted, you should not leave early.

Comment by SeaSlug

SeaSlug — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:52:44 -0800

Adding further confusion in Wash. State is the fact that absentee ballots have been mailed for our Feb. 19 primary, and folks receiving them who are inclined to vote for a Democrat might think that their vote on the ballot will count. It does NOT. Democrats need to cast their votes at the caucus.

Comment by Fnarf

Fnarf — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:51:09 -0800

I intend to write "Fuck you, Washington State" on my ballot, fill in the oval for every candidate on both sides, and mail it in with a piece of lead foil, and a 13-cent stamp. As a protest for being forced to look at the fucking thing.

Comment by N in Seattle

N in Seattle — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:16:33 -0800

Several comments on Annie's Slog post indicated that the 0% threshold means that there won't be a need for anyone to change their initial candidate choice, that there won't be a second counting of the votes. That is not correct.

Some potential choices -- e.g. Kucinich, Gravel, Edwards, Uncommitted -- still might not qualify for delegates. Those people, and perhaps Clinton or Obama sign-ins whose minds have been changed, will have the opportunity to change their decisions before a final distribution of delegates is made.