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Home > Archive > Mar 20, 2008

March 25 Caucus Meetings to Begin Election Process
By Dean Cox
Washington County Emergency Operations Director
Frequently, as I visit with others – the typical water-cooler type of chat – it is not unusual for the topic of discussion to eventually turn to politics. I suppose that it shouldn’t be unexpected, given the fact that this year is a presidential election year, and there has been almost constant news coverage of the presidential hopefuls as they have played primary hopscotch across the country.
I have noticed, especially this year, that there seems to be a greater sense of political disillusionment. Many voters are feeling disenfranchised and disengaged from the candidate-selection process. The early withdrawal from the race by one of the candidates who enjoyed broad popularity in Utah may have exacerbated some of these emotions. Many of these negative feelings, I feel, are heightened by a lack of understanding of how our local political selection-process functions, beginning at the grassroots or precinct level.
Utah’s first presidential primary election was held on Feb. 5. Twenty-two other states also participated at the same time. The February 5th primary was dubbed “Super Tuesday” because of the large number of delegates in each party up for grab on that Election Day. However, the February presidential primary marked the beginning, and not the end, of the process whereby we are allowed to select our elected representatives and leaders.
I presently serve as the chair of the Washington County Republican Party, while my friend and Democratic counterpart, Cyril Noble, is the chairman of the Washington County Democratic Party. Recently we discussed the importance of participating in the candidate-selection process, which begins with neighborhood or “precinct” meetings on March 25 at 7 p.m. The date and time of these meetings, often referred to as “mass meetings” or “caucus meetings,” are established by the Lt. Governor’s Office and are uniformly observed throughout the state.
In our conversation, Mr. Noble stated that, “Every two years, we (as citizens) have the opportunity to meet with our neighbors and talk about politics in a meaningful forum. At the meetings,” he said, “we can meet with candidates and discuss issues that are important to us.” He concluded by saying, “Attending these neighborhood meetings every two years is a serious civic responsibility.”
We were in complete agreement.
So what are these meetings, where are they held, and what is accomplished? As mentioned earlier, the neighborhood caucus meetings are uniformly held at the same time. Each party conducts its own meetings independently of those conducted by rival political parties.
Difficulty in finding the location of your caucus meeting is a common reason given for not attending. With nearly 80 voting precincts in Washington County, it is easy to be confused about which voting precinct you live in. After all, your specific meeting location will depend upon your party affiliation or preference as well as where you reside. One can easily determine his voting precinct by going on-line and visiting the County Clerk’s Web site: http://washco.utah.gov/clerk/maps.php. A telephone inquiry to the clerk’s office, 634-5712, will work too.
Democratic caucus meeting locations, like those of Republicans, can be easily determined once one knows the voting precinct within which they reside. Democratic meeting locations can be determined by visiting the State Democratic Web Site. The URL http://www.utdemocrats.org/ht/d/sp/i/1139834/pid/1139834 will take you directly to the caucus meeting locations. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page (the counties are listed alphabetically). Republican meeting locations similarly can be found by following this link:
http://washingtoncountyrepublicans.com/locations.
There are approximately 74,000 registered voters in Washington County. Unfortunately, only a very small portion of our eligible voters have actually participated in the caucus process. The purpose of the meetings is to elect local precinct officers, and – perhaps most importantly – we elect our associates and neighbors to represent our precinct by serving as delegates to either the County or State Convention, or both.
Washington County Democrats and Republicans alike will conduct their county conventions on the morning of April 19.  Republicans have reserved the Gardner Center on the Dixie State College Campus, while the Democrats have scheduled their convention at the Dixie Center.
County delegates are elected to represent the precinct in the county convention, while state delegates are elected to attend the party’s state convention.
If a candidate fails to secure enough delegate support in the appropriate convention, then the top two candidates for a given office will face each other in a June 24 primary election. However, if a candidate does garner sufficient convention support, he/she will become that party’s certified candidate in the November general election.
We’re lucky to live in a country where we can voice our political opinion and participate freely in the political process. Politics is how democracies resolve legitimate conflicts without resorting to violence. Let’s not just complain about our candidates; instead, let’s become involved at the grassroots level in selecting who they are.
I’m going to attend my meeting Tuesday, March 25. I hope you do too!

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