Nevada Republican Caucus FAQ's
1. What is a caucus?
A caucus is a gathering of neighbors and friends who get together to discuss politics, elect delegates and alternates to the county convention, submit issues to be discussed and voted on for the county platform, and cast their vote for the Presidential candidate of their choice.
2. What’s the difference between a caucus and a primary?
There are many differences between a caucus and a primary. To begin with, you will be voting for delegates and alternates to the county convention in addition to casting a vote for President. Also you must physically attend your precinct caucus in January. Absentee voting and early voting is not allowed. And unlike our primaries, you can only vote at the caucus location in your neighborhood. The Nevada Republican Party will be mailing each Republican voter in the state a postcard specifying their caucus location. Precinct caucus locations will also be published in the newspaper and will be available at the State Party’s website.
3. Why is the election of delegates and alternates at the caucus so important?
The reason the election of delegates and alternates is important is because the Republican nominee for President is chosen by the delegates at the Republican National Convention. In Nevada, the process to become a national delegate begins with getting elected as a delegate at the precinct caucuses.
All Delegates and alternate delegates elected at the precinct caucus will meet in March at their county convention. The county convention will then elect delegates and alternates to represent them at the State Convention in April. And it’s at the State Convention where the delegates and alternates get elected to the Republican National Convention in September.
Since delegates generally vote for other delegates who support the same candidate as they do, it’s advantageous for a candidate to elect as many people as possible as delegates at the precinct caucuses. The more delegates a candidate has after the precinct caucuses in January, the greater the chance they will have the most delegates from Nevada to the National Convention in September.
4. Is this my only chance to vote for my favorite Republican Presidential candidate or can I wait and vote in the primary?
The January Nevada caucuses will be the only chance you’ll have for voting for your favorite Republican Presidential candidate. Presidential candidates will not be on the ballot in Nevada’s August primary.
5. Who can participate in Nevada’s Republican caucuses?
If you are currently registered as a Republican in Nevada you are already eligible to participate. If you are a new resident to Nevada or if you are planning to change your party affiliation to Republican you will need to register 30 days prior to the caucus in order to participate.
Also, if you are seventeen years old and will be eighteen years old on or before November 4, 2008, you will be welcome to participate when you register as a Republican.
6. What happens at a Republican caucus?
If you will be attending your first caucus and aren’t sure how it works, don’t worry, the vast majority of your fellow Republican caucus goers will be attending their first caucus as well. Outlined below are the seven steps each precinct caucus will take:
Sign In: A local volunteer will verify that you are a registered Republican and will check you in
Elect a Caucus Chair and Secretary: Usually the local volunteer that checked you in is elected as Caucus Chair. The caucus secretary will assist the chair.
Election of Delegates: Each precinct will be allotted a specific number of delegates to the county convention based on the number of registered Republicans in the precinct. Anyone may run as a delegate and the top vote getters are automatically elected.
Election of Alternates: Alternates will vote at the county convention when a delegate is unable to attend or has to leave the county convention early.
Turn in Platform Issues: If you have an issue you want considered for inclusion into the county’s platform you must submit it at the caucus. Your platform issue will be debated and voted on at the county convention.
Supporters of Each Candidate Speak: One supporter of each candidate running for President is given a few minutes to explain why the caucus attendees should support their candidate.
Vote: Caucus attendees will then vote in a Presidential Preference Poll immediately after all speeches have been given. These results will be released to the media later in the day.