Washington State Democratic Caucus 2008
If you plan on having a voice in selection of the democratic nominee for president this year, you need to caucus. That means you go and hang out with a bunch of hippy democrats and raise your hand when they call your candidate’s name. Or something like that. I’ve never done it.
Don’t think that the ballot you got in the mail is actually going to count for anything. The WA democrats don’t consider the statewide primary. They allot all delegates based on the caucuses this Saturday.
At this point it’s down to Clinton or Obama. I’m not exactly sure that I know whom I’ll vote for, but I believe the more people that get out there to have their voice heard, the healthier our choice of candidate will be.
You don’t even have to be registered to vote in order to participate in the caucus. In fact, as far as I have been able to decipher, you can caucus and vote and have your voice heard twice. Though, the dems only give you a wink while the repubs actually appoint half of their delegates based on their caucus and half on the primary. So, caucus democrat and vote republican? Seems sensible to have a voice in the two you have to choose from in November.
So, here’s the process for caucusing:
Find your caucusing location:
http://www.wa-democrats.org/caucusfinder
Or call:
(206) 583-4345
Or e-mail grassroots@wa-democrats.org
And show up there at 1pm on Saturday. Apparently you need to show up early. Get inside and show them that you are who you are, that you live where you live (best bet is a voter registration card and state issued ID), and fill out the form expressing your choice. If you stick around, you’ll have a chance to interact with other caucus goers and, eventually, have an opportunity to participate in the negotiations and back-room deals that will squeeze out the minority candidates and ensure the retention of the two party hegemony that has kept Mitt Romney out of contention.
If you’re not registered, you can do it there. Or you can use the above link to find out how to register online, by phone, or by mail.
*!* Remember: If you don’t join the democratic caucus, you’ll have no say in the democratic nomination this year. Your ballot vote does not count toward anything unless you’re voting republican.
you have to sign for your affiliation at the caucus, dumbass.
When you vote a primary ballot, you sign an oath that you will not and have not participated in any nominating events for other parties. That means that while you can caucus Democrat and vote Democrat, you cannot caucus Democrat and vote republican. The parties keep track of caucus attendees and they are given rosters of those who vote partisan ballots.
Actually, if you do participate in the Democratic Caucus and then vote Rebublican your vote can be challenged and then not count for either side. Please don’t do it!
To Anonymous,
Could we please keep these responses intelligent, helpful and professional?
Thanks! Helpful info. You just got me to go caucus, although I hope I can make it in time (it’s 1:30PM)!
YES! Don’t do it! As so kindly pointed out in the first comment, you say you’re a democrat when you caucus for the democratic nominee. That’s not the part that matters though. What matters is that when you vote in the election, because it’s a closed primary, the state makes the voting records public for 60 days.
If the party you caucused for finds that you’ve voted republican in the primary, they can invalidate your vote. The party doesn’t want spoilers playing games.
And I’m very happy if I helped people get out and make their voice heard. I know a lot of people who actually thought (as did I at one time!) that since they had already sent in their ballot for the primary, they didn’t need to go to the caucus.