Nevada Democratic Caucus FAQ's
What is a caucus?
A caucus is a gathering of neighbors who meet to discuss grassroots politics. Democrats will join with others in their precinct to pledge their support for their favorite presidential candidate and thereby award delegates to the candidates.
Caucuses are different than primaries because caucus participants do more than just support a candidate for president – they also participate in other party business such as electing delegates to the county convention and submitting resolutions to the party platform to be considered by the platform committee at the county convention. The caucus is also the first step a Democrat needs to take in order to become a delegate to the national convention, which will be held in Denver, Colorado, in 2008.
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What a caucus is not:
A caucus is not a primary election. Caucus participants do not vote by pulling a lever or filling out a ballot. Caucus participants express their support for the candidate(s) of their choice at a meeting open to all registered Democrats in their precinct.
What happens at a caucus?
Nevada has held caucuses since the 1960s, but this will be the state’s earliest and most significant caucus. The eyes of the nation will be on Nevada on Jan. 19, 2008, as Nevada is the second state in the nation to hold a caucus to express preferences for a presidential nominee. Thousands of national and local media outlets will be watching closely and waiting on that Saturday to report the results of Nevada’s caucus.
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How is the caucus done?
At a set time, Democrats will indicate which candidate they support and the precinct caucus chair will announce which candidates have the most support and which candidates do not have enough support to meet the “viability” threshold.
Caucus systems are not set up to be a one person one vote system. Rather, they are designed to allocate delegates to only those candidates with a threshold of support that is based on the number of people participating in a caucus. Meeting the minimum level of support is called “viability” and whether or not a candidate has enough support determines whether they meet the “threshold” to continue. Caucus participants who support a candidate who is not viable and has not met the threshold of support to continue, realign themselves with their second choice candidate. If a caucus participant does not have a second choice candidate, then he or she simply continues in the process in an uncommitted group.
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How Is Viability Determined?
In order to be entitled to elect delegates to the county convention, groups must have a certain minimum number of eligible caucus attendees in their group.
* There can be no more viable preference groups than there are delegates to elect from a particular precinct. If there are, the smallest groups must re-align until the # of groups equals the # of delegates to elect from that precinct.
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Why is Nevada so important now?
In August, 2006 the Democratic National Committee voted to include Nevada as the second state in the nation to hold a presidential caucus for several reasons:
First, it is important for Democrats to reach out to Western states in order to win the White House. Democrats have done very well in Western states recently, including in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Montana. Democrats in the West believe that a candidate who can win in the West can win the White House.
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Where will my caucus be held?
You won't have to travel very far. The meetings will be held in a school, library, community center, church, or some other public building.
What does it feel like to go to a caucus?
You should feel right at home. You will be meeting with your neighbors, so you'll know some of them. If you are new to Nevada, it is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and have a chance to have an impact on politics - on what issues the party will stand for and what presidential candidates believe.
Many caucus participants leave feeling good about the fact they have participated in a democratic exercise that determines who the next President of the United States will be.
Is there a way to vote early or cast an absentee vote?
No. Participants must caucus on Jan. 19, 2008.
Does it cost anything to participate?
No. Anyone can caucus, as long as he or she is registered as a Democrat. Participants are able to register as Democrats the day of the caucus.
Who Can Attend a Precinct Caucus?
· Precinct caucuses are open meetings. Anyone can attend and observe, but only registered Democrats (including 17 year olds who will be 18 by November 4, 2008 and register as Democrats) can participate.
Who Can Participate?
All participants must be Democrats registered to vote in the precinct. A list of registered Democrats will be available at the caucuses. If you are not on the list and are not registered to vote, you will be able to register as a Democrat at the caucus.
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How Are Delegates Elected?
Once preference groups are viable, the caucus chair will use the following formula to allocate the number of delegates for each preference group.
Delegate Apportionment: Delegates to be elected at the Caucus shall be divided according to each group's size. The following formula shall apply:
Number of eligible attendees in a preference group X Number of Delegates to be elected from that Precinct Caucus
Divided by: Total number of eligible caucus attendees
Equals: Number of delegates to be elected by that group
*Round fractions UP at .5 and DOWN at less than .5 when apportioning delegates.
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Nevada’s Caucus
In general, the caucuses are a great way to have your voice heard. Your support for a candidate and your ideas about what the party platform should look like are an important part of the whole process and is really grassroots politics at its best. Coming together with your neighbors in a collective attempt to express your choice for the presidential nominee is a wonderful part of the democratic process.