Saturday, February 29, is the Republican Caucus. So what is a caucus and why should you care?
To find the location of your caucus, click here –> Caucus Locator
When you attend your caucus, you must bring a valid government ID and your voter registration to save time. We can look up your registration, but it would make for a much longer process. If you need to know what precinct you are in, go to the Secretary of State’s website and find out here: WhereToVote Enter your name and birth date. It will pop up with your information, but you also need to click on the sidebar where it says Voter Registration. That will give you your precinct name and number. If you are not registered to vote or you need to get a new registration card, contact your County Auditor’s office.
What is a caucus? – Every 4 years, we elect a President through a process that begins with grassroots meetings in communities all over the country. The caucuses this year will take place in Washington State on February 29t. Please note: If you have been watching the debacle that went on in Iowa during the Democrat caucuses, you can rest assured that we use a completely different process – one that actually makes sense. We vote for delegates from our community meetings, and the ones with the most votes represent their communities at the county conventions. There are no weird algorithms and rounding rules.
At the caucus, the attendees will choose one or more delegates to attend the Lewis County Convention (or the convention of the county in which you live). At the county conventions, delegates will be chosen to attend the State Convention. At the State Convention, the delegates will be chosen to go to the National Convention. Finally, at the National Convention, the delegates will vote for the Republican nominee for President. As you can see, the people at the National Convention are people who were originally chosen from their local neighborhood caucuses to represent the Republicans in their communities
Why attend a caucus? After all, we all know that Donald Trump will be the 2020 Republican nominee, so why should we still go through this process?
- The caucus is a time for Republican neighbors to get together and discuss the issues that are most important to them. From that discussion, we can develop a group of issues or principles that we will eventually put into a document called a Platform. By attending a caucus, you help to define the issues that are important in your community and can make sure those issues are represented in the County and State Platform.
- The caucus is a good place to get to know who your Republican neighbors are. This year, especially, it is critical that we get more Republicans to vote. We must flip some seats in the State Legislature, and we will also have to work hard to make sure we don’t end up with a Socialist President. To accomplish this, we must work together, and getting to know others in your community who are like-minded can help us accomplish those goals. If you are willing to address a few envelopes, walk in a parade, or perhaps volunteer a few hours in our headquarters, we need to know how to contact you. The caucus is a great place to make the connection.
- The rules of the party require us to nominate our Presidential Candidate through this process. We must elect delegates from each precinct. It’s one of the most effective things you can do to be personally involved in the election of a President and the forming of our party platform. Come get involved – if this is your first time, you can just come to the caucus to participate at that level. Or you can ask to be a delegate to the County Convention (for Lewis County, the convention will take place on March 28th at the Chehalis Eagles). If you want to become even more involved, you could even go on to attend the State Convention in Everett in May.
Where do I go to attend my caucus? Lewis County will be holding pooled caucuses. That means that several precincts will often be meeting together in one building. To find the location of your caucus, please click on this link. Caucus Locator After you add some basic information, it will provide you with an address for your caucus and you can pre-register – a ticket will come via email, so you just print it and bring it with you. You do not have to pre-register, so please don’t let it stop you if you haven’t registered. You can do it at the door. There have also been a few people who didn’t get their “email ticket” after registering. Again, it is not a problem – you can still attend.
Caucuses will be held on Saturday morning, February 29, 2020 at 10:00 am. The doors will open at 9:00 am. We should be done before lunch. See you there!
Boistfort PCO