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Caucus confusion

2/10/2016

Countless volunteer hours were spent locating caucus sites and calling registered voters to find volunteers to work at the Feb. 1 caucus. If you were one of those who worked to make the caucuses successful, thank you very much. The unexpected large turnout of those who were not registered Democrats took extra time to get everyone registered as a Democrat. If someone was already a registered Democrat since the last time the County Auditor had updated the files, each person simply signed in on the pre-printed Caucus Registration Form. The rest had to register as a Democrat and then sign and fill out a New Voter Registration Form if they were registered as an independent or Republican or had never voted. The signed form stated that they were now a Democrat for the Democrat business meeting, called a caucus. In Dallas County, our extra challenge was one of not having enough free public spaces. The population in Dallas County is growing so fast that it is not keeping up with the need for space for public events. Another problem at the Dallas County caucuses was that people started arriving at 5 p.m. In most locations, we were not allowed to set up before 6 p.m. This resulted in confusion among our volunteers, as well as those who came to register. The actual vote to select the party’s candidates for all partisan public offices will happen in the June primary election.  The Democrat caucus is a Democrat business meeting to elect delegates to the Democrat county convention, as well as the county central committee that conducts the county business. However, the delegate selection process does give a good indication of the strength of each presidential candidacy. The delegate process continues up to the state convention that will elect national delegates. The national convention is given the task of selecting the party’s candidates for president and vice-president.

Julie Stewart Ziesman
-Waukee

A thank you to Brian and Mary Lohse
Their story in the article “A tale of 3 tickets” (Cityview, Feb. 4) was an outstanding example of great Iowans. I have only passed through Bondurant, and it is unlikely I will ever stop or spend much time there. But how great for the community that this family who could now literally live anywhere in the world chose to not only stay in their community but to also make a strong commitment of time and resources to make it better. I would like to think many of us would do the same or similar things, but I am not so sure. Southern Florida and Arizona both sound pretty good on this 14-degree day.

Mike Rowley
-Clive

CNA - Stop HIV Iowa

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