Can we get rid of caucuses? [View all]

[BlueCheese]

Last edited Sun Oct 25, 2015, 02:45 AM - Edit history (1)

Let me just be blunt. I dislike the idea of caucuses. They put up huge barriers to voter participation, are unfair to big segments of the population, are completely undemocratic, and would be blatantly unconstitutional if used for a general election. Every state should hold a primary election.

I've actually never lived in a state at caucus time, so I admit what I'm saying is based on secondhand knowledge. But as I understand it, the usual Iowa caucus process goes something like this:

1. You have to show up at your precinct, in person, at a fixed time, such as 7 pm. Just this fact alone should make anyone reject the whole notion of caucuses. What if you work a shift? Sorry, you don't count. What if you can't find a babysitter? Tough luck. What if you're disabled and can't leave your house? Should have thought of that first. What if you're deployed overseas? Thanks for your service, but no voting for you. What if you're out of town for work? No absentee ballots, sorry!

2. You go to the part of the room for your preferred candidate. Secret ballot? Nope! All your neighbors get to see who you support. Why wouldn't you want them to know, anyway? Do you have something to hide? (Actually, this is one place where the Republicans might be smarter than us. They use a secret ballot at their caucuses.)

3. For roughly 30 minutes, you have to endure other people trying to convince you to vote for their candidate. What if you're pretty well-informed and aren't going to change your mind? Just grin and bear it. Why, do you have something better to do?

4. If one or more candidates don't get enough supporters, then their supporters have about 30 minutes to realign. Sit tight!

5. Finally, about 90 minutes into it, a count is made, delegates are selected for the county caucuses, and you get to go home.

Quickly, let's compare that to the primary process:

1. You show up some time between 7 am and 8 pm, get a ballot, make your choice, and leave. The whole thing takes five minutes. If you can't make it that day, you send in an absentee ballot.

Which one gets more turnout, do you think? In 2008, when both parties had contested nominations, the average participation in the caucus states was... 6.8%. In Iowa, the target of an enormous amount of attention and get-out-the-vote efforts, the participation rate was... 16.3%. Washington had a rate of 0.9%. This compared with an average of 30.3% in primary elections. Data shows that in caucus states, turnout among people aged 30-44, the group most likely to have young children, was significantly lower than for other age groups.

(All numbers from this source.)

If any state made it as hard to vote in a general election as the parties make it to participate in a caucus, the ACLU and Justice Department come down on their heads so fast it would make your head spin. So can we get rid of these archaic, undemocratic, unrepresentative ways of choosing nominees already?