Caucus 101: Everything you always wanted to know about the presidential caucus * but were afraid to ask

If you are a resident of Iowa, you have spent the past year or so being bombarded with political ideas, plans and campaign promises from the many presidential candidates hoping to have your support on Jan. 3. Now, perhaps you have never attended a caucus before, but because of all the media coverage of this long campaign, you have decided you want to attend a caucus. What can you expect? Jasper County Republican party chair Eldon Pals says you can look forward to a rousing night of political debate. “It will be a very pleasant evening of discussion, a sharing of common concerns,” Pals said, adding that there will be time for representatives of the political candidates to present their goals and plans one last time, as well as hammering out details of the party’s platform. Considering all the interest in the presidential candidates this election cycle, Joe Brock, Jasper County Democratic chair, is urging caucus attendees to arrive at their precinct early. “I think from the phone calls I’m receiving and the interest shown, we’re expecting a record turnout. I would encourage people to get there early,” Brock said. Republicans or independents can attend the Democratic caucus, but they must be a resident of that precinct, and register as a Democrat. If a name doesn’t appear on the party’s rolls, that participant can re-register. Each precinct’s caucus will be called to order promptly at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. All attendees must be signed in or waiting in line to sign in by 7 p.m., when the doors will be closed. Brock said there must be a cutoff time because attendees must be counted to determine candidate viability. This is where the Democrats and the Republicans begin playing by very different rules. Although the Jasper County auditor is informed of caucus locations and some other details, much of the caucus rules are determined by the parties themselves. Here’s how the Democrats do it. Once the doors are closed and the caucus has been called to order, introductions and explanations of the rules are given. There will be time for presentations from elected officials. During this time, letters from Sen. Tom Harkin, Gov. Chet Culver and other prominent Democrats will be read, usually thanking the attendees for participating in the democratic process. Then an election of the permanent officers, a chairperson and a secretary for the caucus is held. No secret ballots are allowed. Next, the number of attendees is counted. That number is important because it will be used to determine which presidential candidate’s group is viable, that is, has enough supporters to send delegates to the county and district conventions. The caucus then breaks out into the various preference groups, and the caucus chairperson will inform each group how many convention delegates each group gets. All the supporters of Hillary Clinton will gather together in one part of the room, or perhaps another room altogether, and Barack Obama’s people will gather in another place, and so on. Those who are undecided have 30 minutes to align themselves with a group. Here’s when the Democratic caucuses have their most rowdy moments. Members of the various groups can plead, cajole, beg, even bribe the undecideds to join their group. Bribery may include anything from a plate of cookies to a chance to be a delegate to the county convention. Often a prepared statement will be read by the chairman of the preference group in an attempt to persuade those who are sitting on the fence. Any preference group that does not have enough supporters to be viable (remember, that is a percentage of the total number of caucus attendees) may realign with another preference group that is viable. For example, those supporting Christopher Dodd may not have enough supporters to be a viable preference group, so they may decide to join the John Edwards group, which is viable. Or, they may decide to realign with the Dennis Kucinich people, whose group is also not viable, thus forming a single viable group to support Dodd. Members of viable preference groups can also defect during this time to other groups as well. One rule in play here is that there cannot be more preference groups than there are delegates to elect to the county convention. Once all the realigning has been completed, the number of delegates to be awarded to each preference group is determined, and the groups elect their delegates and alternates to the county convention. Everyone comes back together as one caucus to elect the platform committee and discuss resolutions for the platform committee to adopt. For the Republicans, the caucus process is much simpler. The evening will begin with representatives of the candidates emphasizing the important points of each campaign. Then, the attendees will break into groups and vote, using a secret ballot, for the candidate of their choice. The percentages of the group supporting each candidate decides what delegates will go on to the county convention. County chair Eldon Pals said there will be an opportunity to submit planks for the county’s platform. Other things to be aware of, Brock said, are that no absentee ballots will be allowed for the caucus. Those who wish to particpate must attend in person. There will, however, be request forms for absentee ballots for the general election. Youth are invited to attend and those who will not be 18 by Nov. 4, 2008, can be a youth delegate at the county convention. Seventeen-year-olds within six months of their birthday must register as a Democrat if attending the Democratic caucus. Only one small yard sign for each candidate will be allowed at the caucus. For any confusion about which precinct to attend, residents should call the Jasper County Auditor’s office, 792-7016, or visit the Web site at www.co.jasper.ia.us.