Help Out Diggs Brown by Going to Caucus on March 16

On March 16 at 7 p.m., Colorado Republicans will go to caucus.

At caucus, we’ll elect delegates to the 4th Congressional District Assembly which will be held on Friday, May 21 in Loveland.

Those delegates who are elected at caucus will decide which candidates are listed on the August primary ballot. If a candidate does not receive 30% of the vote at the Assembly, it becomes nearly impossible to even get on the ballot to run.

We need you to help by:

Attending your precinct caucus on March 16; and
Running for delegate to the 4th Congressional District Assembly.

So mark your calendars for:

Caucus: March 16
4th Congressional District Assembly: Friday, May 21

Contact the campaign at (970) 308-7504 if you need more information.

So what can you expect at caucus? Here’s a brief overview.

On March 16, Colorado will hold its caucuses. If you want a say in who your party nominates for Governor, Senate, Congress (or any other office for that matter), go to caucus.

So, uh, what’s a caucus?

Basically, caucuses are precinct-level meetings of voters of a specific party. You sit around a table with your neighbors, make some small talk, ask about each others’ kids, lament at how long it has been since you’ve gotten together, and vote on stuff. It takes about an hour and a half. Ever wonder who elects the chairmen of the Republican and Democratic National Committees? You do. They’re determined by a process that begins at your precinct caucus. All of those people wearing the funny hats at the Republican and Democratic Conventions? They’re the end result of a process that begins for Colorado on March 16.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves.

If you’re a registered Republican or Democrat you’re eligible to attend your caucus on March 16. (Sorry, “unaffiliateds”). The locations will be available in the weeks leading up to caucus day, but usually caucuses are held in local schools, churches or community buildings. For example, my precinct met at Rocky Mountain High School last year. Check in at the main table and then find your precinct. You might be the only voter there from your precinct, there might be ten or twenty (or fifty) others. There will be a brief introduction and orientation, and the actual caucusing begins.

In other words, you start voting on stuff.

First, you’ll vote to elect two precinct committeepersons to represent you within the county party. The elected leadership of the county parties makes up the state party. The elected leadership of the state party makes up the national political party. The Republican and Democratic National Committees are reconstituted every two years in a process that begins at the precinct level. So if you’re concerned about how your party is being run, go to caucus, get elected precinct committeeperson, then county party chairman, then state party chairman and then national party chairman.

Next, you vote for delegates to the county, congressional and state nominating assemblies. These assemblies determine who gets to run in the primary elections. For example, if you want to run for State Representative, you need to receive at least 30 percent of the delegate vote for your legislative district at the county nominating assembly. So on March 16, you’ll cast a vote for a handful (determined by precinct size) of delegates to the county, congressional and state nominating assemblies. If you want to be a delegate to the 4th Congressional District Assembly on May 21, all you have to do is get elected at your caucus.

Just remember, this whole thing isn’t really that complicated. It’s a meeting with your neighbors, after all. Your caucus chairman will ask: “Who wants to be precinct committeeperson?” You’ll vote. Your caucus chairman will ask: “Who wants to go to the 4th CD, state or county assembly?” You’ll vote.

It’s one of the cornerstones of our representative democracy. It takes about an hour and a half.