Democratic caucus promises to be an eventful evening

On March 22, 2016, a couple of weeks after the Idaho Republican Presidential primary, Idaho Democrats will hold their caucus. Idaho is one of a few states across the nation that holds a presidential selection caucus rather than a presidential primary election. The rules for the caucus are largely determined by the Democratic National Committee; the caucus is paid for by the local Democratic Party, not local taxpayers.

In Kootenai County the caucus will be held from 6-9 p.m. at Boswell Hall on the NIC campus, and we expect a large, enthusiastic crowd of Bernie and Hillary supporters. The caucus affords a fun and very basic way of participating in a national political process. The caucus simulates somewhat the national presidential nominating convention where supporters cheer their candidates and give speeches to persuade other voters to their camp. The public is also invited to the Kootenai Democratic caucus. Special areas will be set aside for observers and the media.

In order to participate at the caucus, you must complete a pledge form on which you declare yourself a Democrat, will be registered as a voter in Kootenai County by the Nov. 8 election (so young folks who will turn 18 and be registered by then can also participate), and not have participated in any other presidential selection process (i.e. the Republican primary). You can also put forward your own name to be a delegate to the Idaho Democratic presidential convention in Boise in June.

There are two main parts to the caucus. The first part sorts out who’s supporting which candidate. As folks enter the auditorium they go to designated subcaucus areas for Sanders, Clinton, O’Malley, and undeclared. Once the Caucus Chair explains the plan for the evening, speeches will begin with the purpose of swaying the opponents’ supporters and the undeclared. Folks thus persuaded may change to a different subcaucus area.

When the sorting is done, the pledge forms will be collected and counted to determine the percentage of voters in each subcaucus relative to the total participants. That percentage determines how many delegates from Kootenai County each candidate will get. Because of our population, our county is allocated 35 delegates and 35 alternates to the state convention.

That brings us to the second part: electing the delegates. In order to have at least one delegate, a subcaucus must have at least 15 percent of the total number of participants. If the undeclared subcaucus, for example, fails to reach the 15 percent threshold, those folks must go to one of the other subcaucuses.

If you want to be a delegate to the state convention to support your favorite candidate, this is the time to put your name forward. You will have a chance to give a speech on your own behalf. The members of your subcaucus will vote to elect the requisite number of delegates and alternates.

Delegates to the state convention have two main responsibilities: to support their candidate as pledged and to participate in the writing and adoption of a new Idaho Democratic platform. If you have time, interest, and resources, you may also choose to run for delegate to the national Democratic nominating convention in Philadelphia this summer.

In order to participate in the Kootenai County Democratic Caucus, you simply have to show up at Boswell Hall, NIC, on March 22. The doors will open at 4:30 p.m. and will close promptly at 6 p.m., at which time no one else will be admitted.

To streamline the process, we encourage you to go to kootenaidemocrats.org to pre-register for the caucus. If you’d like to be a delegate, you will register for that at the caucus. We also need volunteers to help that night. If you are interested in volunteering or need further information about the caucus, please call Paula at 755-9590.

An informational workshop about the caucus process will be held for any interested person at the Democratic Club luncheon on Friday, Feb. 26, at noon at the Iron Horse Bar and Grill, downtown Coeur d’Alene.