I have to have a candidate committed to me as much as I am committed to them!

[Peacetrain]

Someone asked a question in a post I put up this AM that really got me to thinking. It has to with the caucuses. You see in Iowa, you cannot participate in our Democratic caucus, unless you are a registered Democrat. You have to be a member of the party. You have to make the commitment to support the party before you get a say in who will represent us.


Its a big deal. Members of other parties, or independents do not get a say in our business as we go about selecting candidates. Because we commit to our candidates and we need them committed to us.

[brush]

1. With all due respect, caucuses are are exclusionary and restrict...

participation by voters who may have to work, attend class, do homecare or other duties during the 3-5 hours one has to devote to attending a caucus.

Primaries are much more inclusive as the polls are open all day which allows voters to schedule their time to vote before work or class, during lunch hour or after work.

[PatSeg]

2. Also you can vote absentee

but you can't absentee caucus.

[brush]

4. Yes, another reason to switch to primaries.

[Peacetrain]

5. Here is a question for you..

Since some primaries are open.. which means anyone can vote in them.. then you can have republicans choose who your Democratic candidate is?.. seems to me that is a bigger problem than going to the caucus for 2 hours. We are talking about choosing the candidates. Now the caucus is a pain in the ass because you have to get yourself over there in the cold .. etc etc.. but it is what it is where I live. The one thing I am sure of. The person next to me voting for the candidate that will be on the ticket, has registered to be a Democrat.

[brush]

6. That's mostly an appocryphal story that rarely if ever...

happens. I mean really, where has it ever been verified that enough repugs ever organized and actually influenced a Dem primary?

And the vast majority of Dem primaries are closed.

IMO caucuses are an archaic vestige of times past. Most don't have time for that so no true representation of electorate results.

[Peacetrain]

7. 22 closed. 17 open, the rest modified primaries

"According to Green Papers' data, 22 states have fully or partially closed Democratic presidential primaries, meaning you must be registered as a Democrat to vote in the primary.

Eleven states further have partially open primaries where unaffiliated but not registered Republicans can vote in the Democratic primary. And seventeen states have fully open primaries where any person, regardless of their party registration, can cast a ballot in the Democratic presidential primary, however, voters can only participate in one party's primary."

that is according to this link.. https://www.businessinsider.com/which-states-have-open-or-closed-democratic-primaries-2019-11/


We had issues in 2016 with people trying to do a bums rush of the caucus to get in without registering. I do not think for a second that this current Trumpian party.. the same one that engaged Russian and tried to engage Ukraine would not putz around in our primaries..

[brush]

8. And what if they do, which I doubt is nowhere near widespread?

They'll help a Democrat get elected (any Dem is better than any repug). Again, it's an apocryphal story and primaries are much more inclusive than outdated caucuses.

[MineralMan]

3. I'm more about having a candidate who supports policies I can agree with.

I don't expect commitment to me, specifically. I've actually never met an actual Presidential candidate. So, none of them know me. I look at their ideas and commitments in various areas before choosing which ones to support. That's as close as I can come, really.

We used to have caucuses in Minnesota for presidential primaries. While I enjoyed being a caucus leader and precinct chair, I always thought too few people had too much input into caucus results. I prefer primaries, and was glad when Minnesota switched over to them for the 2020 presidential primaries.

In Minnesota, like some other states, we don't register to vote by party. At the primary election, you have to choose a party's ballot on which to vote. In doing so, you are declaring yourself in line with that party's principles. So, a Republican can vote on the Democratic ballot, if he or she is willing to make that declaration.

I don't know how much of an issue that will be, frankly. Most Minnesota Republicans dislike ALL of our Democratic presidential primary candidates, so their votes would be all over the place, and probably wouldn't have much effect in the end. I doubt that many Minnesota Republicans will choose the Democratic primary ballot in the first place.