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Caucus, for a change
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Sen. Barack Obama may have left the building, but the Democratic race is just heating up in Idaho. The Idaho Democratic Caucus will take place Tuesday, in sync with caucuses and primaries across America. For this reason, the first Tuesday in February is commonly referred to as “Super Tuesday.”
Approximately 52 percent of the nation’s Democratic delegates will be accounted for when voters in 24 states gather at caucuses and polling stations Feb. 5.
Although Idaho holds only its Democratic caucus on “Super Tuesday,” most states hold both their Democratic and Republican primaries on the infamous date.
Idaho holds a caucus in each one of its 44 counties. Ada County residents will caucus at Qwest Arena, and Canyon County residents will report to the Nampa Civic Center.
The doors at Qwest Arena open at 5 p.m., and voters will enter through the main entrance just across from the Boise Centre on the Grove. Upon arrival, attendees will fill out basic demographic information on a voter registration card. They will also write which candidate they plan to support, and sign a pledge to vote Democrat come November. All registered voters can attend the caucus, provided they will be 18 years old by Nov. 4, 2008. Unregistered citizens of voting age can register at the caucus.
Ada County Caucus Chair Kathy Ellis can’t say how many people will attend the caucus.
“This is not an RSVP event,” Ellis said. “We’re preparing for anything.”
About 4,000 Ada County voters attended the caucus in 2004.
Voters will receive a hand stamp designating their congressional district, and are then directed to the appropriate section of the arena. The building will be divided by congressional districts, as well as by candidate. Voters will still be able to register in support of Sen. John Edwards, because he has not officially withdrawn his bid for the candidacy. Edwards announced the suspension of his campaign Jan. 30.
After the doors close, promptly at 7 p.m., a representative of each candidate will take the stage in an attempt to sway on-the-fence voters. Those wishing to change their registration card in support of another candidate may do so. Each candidate must have the support of at least 15 percent of the room. Any group of voters not meeting that criterion must, after the speeches are given, support another candidate.
“The second ballot is going to be the fun part,” Ellis said. “People will be politicking and trying to get others to support their candidate. It’s going to be interesting.”
Democratic delegates from Ada County – there 121 at the state level – will be assigned to each candidate proportionally based on their percentage of supporters after the second balloting.
Ada County submits its delegate counts to the state Democratic Party, and the number from each county is tallied. Idaho has 23 delegates as the national level, and these will be distributed to the candidates after the state results are determined. Those delegates go on to represent Idaho at the National Democratic Convention in Denver August 25-28.
For more information about your local caucus visit idaho-democrats.org or adademocrats.org.
CHARLOTTE TAYLOR
News Editor