What happens at a Minnesota precinct caucus meeting

[MineralMan]

I've presided over several of them now. For people who don't have the caucus system in their state, it might be interesting to know what happens. Minnesota precinct caucuses are important, because they determine the ratio of delegates pledged to candidates at the Minnesota state convention, where delegates to the Democratic National Convention are elected.

Our precinct caucuses are held in public places. In St. Paul, each ward has up to 14 precincts in it. In Ward 6, where I live, the caucuses are held in classrooms at a high school in the ward. The caucus meeting begins in the evening, usually at 7 PM. It's announced in the local papers and on the news, and the location and time are publicized by the local DFL district organization.

Since this is a presidential election year, with no incumbent in the race, I'll describe the 2008 caucus meeting, since it's most similar to this year. Here's the agenda:

1. Call to order - At 7PM, the caucus convener calls the caucus to order.
2. Election of Caucus Chair - This is done right away. Typically the convener gets that job, due to experience in running a caucus meeting.
3. Election of vote counting officers. This takes virtually no time, and the people who volunteer are generally elected by acclamation.
4. Reading of DFL documents. This includes a statement of support for DFL candidates and principles, along with our statement of support for equal treatment of all groups. There are no signed pledges of DFL membership or any such thing, but attendees are asked whether they agree with DFL principles as a group.
5. Straw Vote for Presidential Candidates - All eligible candidate are listed and a simple secret ballot vote is taken by having attendees write down the name of the candidate they support on a folded piece of paper. Before the voting, anyone can speak in favor of their favorite candidate. Such speeches are very brief and there were only a couple in 2008. Immediately thereafter, the tallying group counts and tallies the ballots, with a double-check process and the results are announced. A report on the voting is hand carried, along with all ballots, to the ward officers for recording and reporting.
Note: At this point in 2008, almost everyone left the caucus meeting. We had about 100 votes in the straw vote. Only 12 people were left for the rest of the meeting.
6. Call for Resolutions - At this time, any caucus attendee can submit resolutions for consideration at the District convention held about a month later. Any resolutions are read by the presenter and voted on by caucus attendees. In 2008, there were two resolutions presented and both were voted for and passed on to the next level.
7. Election of Precinct officers - Each Precinct has a chair, vice-chair and secretary. They really have no duties required of them. If the current officers are interested, they are usually re-elected. Getting volunteers to become officers is usually the biggest problem, even though there aren't really any required duties. I've been the chair for a few years, and maintain a website for the precinct, but it's the only precinct I know of with a website.
8. Election of Delegates to the State Senate District or County Convention - Each precinct is allocated a certain number of delegates. In 2008, our precinct could elect 14 delegates to the next level convention. Since there were only 12 people left at the caucus at this time, anyone who wanted to be a delegate could be a delegate. Only six people became delegates in 2008, which was too bad, really.
9. Adjournment - That's it. The caucus is adjourned and whoever is left goes home. The caucus chair takes the list of delegates to the ward chairman.

The bottom line here is that 100 or so people voted for their preferred presidential candidate. That's all. The vote was about 70 for Obama and 30 for Clinton. That all became part of the overall balance of delegate selection at the state convention, when combined with all of the other precinct results.

In 2008, the entire caucus meeting lasted less than 2 hours. And that's how it works in Minnesota. It was the highest attendance ever for a Ward 6, Precinct 13 caucus meeting. There are just over 2300 registered voters in that precinct. So about 100 people decided for the entire precinct.

If you have a caucus system, go to your caucus meeting. Your voice is definitely heard. Become a delegate to the convention at the next level. It's interesting and you get another voice in the process. Get involved!

[Iliyah]

1. Interesting

The Democratic Party's meeting I sometime attend is hilarious and a lot of fun!

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. When I lived in California, I was part of the local Democratic

organization, too. I always enjoyed meetings, and participated in conventions as a delegate there, too. The caucus system was really interesting to me when I moved to Minnesota. It's always informative and fun to be part of.

[Skidmore]

25. Iowa's is very similar.

I really love it too. There is a lot of good discussion that goes on.

[MineralMan]

26. Thanks for the info.

I know very little about Iowa's caucuses, but I figured they were similar.

[sufrommich]

3. So,in other words,only people who can give two hours of their

time starting at 7:00 pm were allowed to select the primary candidate. There's nothing democratic about caucuses and they reek of voter suppression.

[MineralMan]

4. I don't disagree, but that is the system that is in place here.

There's one thing about it that is very interesting, though. A dedicated group of supporters of a candidate could have a huge impact on the outcome. For example, if Sanders supporters could bring 100 people to our precinct caucus, they could obviously swing that precincts results. But, there are many, many precincts in the state, so they'd have to deliver about that many to every precinct caucus. It simply doesn't happen.

Interestingly enough, the vote in that caucus pretty closely reflected the vote statewide, I learned later. There was no stuffing of the caucus ballot box. In reality, it's almost impossible for a campaign's supporters to deliver enough people to really alter the results. In practice, it all balances out, really. We also have a primary election in Minnesota, held much later in the year. It went for Obama, as well. But the delegates to the national convention come out of the precinct straw votes and are distributed according the the percentages from those straw votes.

There is always a movement here to end the caucus and convention system. So far, it has not prevailed. I participate in the system as it exists, just as I did in California, where primaries rule.

[sufrommich]

5. Regardless,caucuses were designed to keep people out,people who

can't commit to that time ,it's horribly elitist.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. They were not *designed* to keep people out.

That might be a consequence now, but the caucus system arose many, many decades ago under the old leftist Farmer-Labor party, a progressive/populist outfit whose base and whose policies were anything but elitist. The caucuses allowed for grassroots organization during a time when the only way to organize anything was in person - and most of these people weren't working in the evening; they were farming during the day. Times have changed and maybe the caucuses should be scrapped in favor of a conventional primary election. But their original purpose was the exact opposite of elitist.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. You don't need two hours; you typically need only about 10 minutes.

They do the primary balloting first, which happens fast; then many people leave. The system has its positive and negative aspects. It's been done this way for many, many years (some history here: https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2008/02/political-warfare-looking-back-early-dfl-caucuses ), and I doubt the intent was ever voter suppression, though these days that might be a consequence. The predecessor of Minnesota's DFL party was the Farmer-Labor party, a very leftist bunch with some Communist affiliations. The Farmer-Labor party merged into the Democratic party after WWII to keep the Communists from taking over the FL. The old caucuses were part of that process.

I've been to many caucuses. They are often interesting - and occasionally irritating, because sometimes people with what one might call eccentric agendas introduce fringey and lame-brained resolutions that have no chance of ever being adopted at the convention, after yammering about them at great length. Even so, it's good that everyone, even the eccentric, can participate in grassroots democracy. If you want to get involved in the party process this is where you can start. On the other hand, it does require one to show up in person on a particular date and time, and not everyone can do that.

[MineralMan]

7. Thanks for that additional information.

[Wellstone ruled]

12. Those were the days.

Our Precinct was always a hoot,pretty much run by the Teamsters from Honeywell and NWA as well as the Storage Locals. Usually three hours and then retire to the closest watering hole for further consultations. And yes we had the Egomaniac Jesse as our Mayor at that time as well as Bachnman lurking around. Here in the Southwest,the wannabe Dems do not have a clue as organizing. And you wonder how Harry Reid ever got elected.

[sufrommich]

8. I'm commenting on all caucuses,not just Minnesota,they

favor people who work days,have child care options,transportation at a very specific time and the finances to manage all of that. Let's not pretend they don't cater to a very specific demographic,comfortably middle glass people who work during the day. I say this as a Hillary supporter who thinks she's going to win most of the caucuses,I hate them and think they need to go.

[MineralMan]

13. Your state uses primary elections, instead.

What's the typical turnout for primaries in presidential election years in Michigan?

If you came to my precinct caucus meeting in St. Paul, you wouldn't find elites and wealthy people. I've never met one there. Instead, you'd find a pretty fair representation of people in that precinct. From what I can determine, attendees pretty closely reflect the ethnic makeup of the precinct and its blue-collar population. Results of the straw poll were almost identical to the later primary election in my precinct.

While the caucus system is vulnerable to manipulation in theory, the reality is that it generally reflects the overall voting population pretty well. I wondered about that when I moved here, but simply haven't seen any sign of it. The same is true at the district conventions. I talk to a lot of people at those and have yet to find anyone other than regular residents that reflect the general makeup of the district. There are the leadership characters in the local DFL organization on hand, but the delegates are a fair cross-section of the district population, with one exception - race. Black voters are underrepresented at the conventions. That changed a bit, starting in 2008, but is still unbalanced.

On the other hand, we have an outstanding representation of the Hmong community at both the caucuses and conventions. Conventions are generally held on Saturdays here. Still, only those who attended the caucus meetings become delegates, and only those who stick with the meeting until delegate selection is done. In 2008, most of the black attendees left after voting in the Presidential poll, so there were no black delegates from my precinct.

Genders are well-balanced, though, at both caucus and conventions.

[sufrommich]

17. I would say a better way to judge election versus caucus is to look at

the participation numbers in poor or working class districts as opposed to wealthy or middle class districts. Also,in my area of Michigan,the 7:00pm starting time would leave out every single UAW worker on the afternoon shift,that's a ton of people.

[MineralMan]

19. That's a good description of my precinct and district.

The Greater East Side of St. Paul is about as working class and poor as any you'll find. That's where I live. But, caucus turnout is always low, really. Maybe the evening shift worker can't attend, but the day shift or midnight shift worker can participate. If only 100 people come to a caucus meeting, few will want to, really. As I said, ours is reflective of the population in the precinct. Most people, frankly, just aren't interested. More's the pity.

[workinclasszero]

10. Very interesting

thanks for the info MineralMan

[Bluenorthwest]

11. Oregon Primary 2008: 638,593 out of 868,371 registered Democrats voted in the primary.

This represents 73.54% in terms of voter turnout, breaking the previous record of 72% among Oregon Democrats set in 1968.

I like it better when everyone gets to be included.

[aidbo]

14. +1

[MineralMan]

16. I wish all states had your voting system.

I'd love to have it here in Minnesota. That's an outstanding primary voter turnout. I'm very envious of it. We don't even come close to that, although we managed about 40% in 2008.

Our primaries have no impact on presidential races, but are how the ballots are made up for all other offices. The party organization can endorse primary candidates, but that's it. Our system is mixed, with the old-fashioned caucus/convention system used primarily for presidential races. The primary handles everything else. People vote for Presidential candidates in the primary, too, but that does not affect delegate selection for the national convention.

I suspect our caucus system will go away before too long. Sadly, that will hurt participation in our DFL party organization. The caucuses now are the entry point into that organization. People will have to join in another way, once there are no more caucuses.

[longship]

15. Thank you, MM.

People who complain about the national DNC apparently do not realize that the DNC is an animal that grows from the bottom up. Precinct delegates become district delegates become state delegates become national delegates. The big issue that many folks who complain about the DNC do not understand is this fact that taking over a party has to happen from bottom-up, not top-down.

Attend party functions. Run for precinct delegate. If one complains about the DNC and are not doing that, one has no argument.

My best to you, MM.

[MineralMan]

18. Thank you! Yes, the party is made up from the bottom up.

I've been trying to get people to get involved at the local level for some time. The bottom line is that if you're active and want to be part of party leadership, you probably can be. It can take a bit of time and some genuine activity, but that's how you do it.

I'm too old at this point to want to be involved beyond the precinct and district convention level, really. But I can see exactly how a person could enter the leadership chain. Committee positions actually go begging quite often, so that's the first step. As a committee member, you can run for other leadership positions and get elected. There are too few people who are actively interested in those positions, especially as more and more work is involved.

I think just a couple of presidential election cycles would have to pass before someone who really wanted to be part of district leadership would get elected, as long as that person wasn't too far off the wall. If I were just 10 years younger, I'd go for it. This year, I can probably become a state convention delegate. I'm considering working toward that, but it will depend on how I'm feeling and where the convention will be in 2016. I'd like to participate in at least one, just for the experience.

[longship]

20. Indeed, that is how it works.

I reminisce, in horror, how the GOP had morphed to a fundamentalist Christian party in Kansas when I went to the state Dem convention. Joan Finney was governor at the time. I got some face-to-face with her, appealing for her to veto the death penalty bill. Unfortunately she let it go into law without her signature. She was a professed Catholic; I do not know how she could not have vetoed it.

Such are state politics. If one wants to change things one has to activate like-minded people to get involved. And it happens from the bottom-up, not the White House down.

My best to you, MM.

[Agnosticsherbet]

21. 100 people decided for 2300? 4.3%turnout

And I complain about 17% turnout on special elections in my district.

A system that set up so that a tiny minority makes the decisions for a majority is not very democratic.

The caucaus system should be abolished in favor of mail in balloting.

In Calinfornia, going to mail in voting would improve our primary, which otherwise is quite good.

[MineralMan]

22. Yes. Just what I said.

I wish more would show up. That's the system we have in Minnesota. We also have primary elections. Only in the presidential race do those caucuses matter. Minnesota has used them for a very long time. There's a movement to change to using primaries only, but it hasn't succeeded yet.

And I agree that mail-in voting is the way to go. Oregon has proven that for sure. I'd like that to be in place nationally, with automatic registration of every eligible voter.

What I'd like and what is actually in place are often very different. So, I participate in what is available to me. I'm merely describing the process, not endorsing it. I thought people might be interested, since caucuses are not typical of most states. Most people have no experience with them. Hence my description of the process.

[artislife]

23. I will be caucusing in WA

I remember the gnashing of teeth by h supporters of 2008 of all those horrible Obama supporters.

[MineralMan]

24. We're more polite here in Minnesota.

I didn't notice any gnashing of teeth here in 2008.

[BainsBane]

27. Nor did I

and I caucused for Obama.

[MineralMan]

28. So did I. He won handily in my precinct.

[artislife]

29. I read at feminist sites back then

And it was from around the country...can't single out Minnesota but can't say there weren't complaints there.

I was and am an Obama supporter so I read it with care.

[Agnosticsherbet]

30. It is not who people support, but that so few give a damn

Caucus encourages and rewards low turn out, allowing the best organized a chance to rig the game.