Quote
Originally posted by: alanleroyII
Have you caucused before in Nevada, forkushV? I'm interested in your observations on it. Do people change their minds? Is it friendly or heated? How do they vote? Show of hands? Secret Ballot? How many people are there 'caucusing' with you?
Thanks for asking. In 2008 I was an out-of-state volunteer and I helped a local get there and vote. It was held in a casino ballroom, and I was allowed to do everything but vote. From vague memory, there were maybe 120 people in attendance.
It was friendly and everyone knew exactly who they were voting for when they arrived. After registering, everyone was told to go to a corner representing their candidate for a head count. It was a lot more interesting in 2008 than it will be this year because there was a third candidate. So after John Edwards came in third his voters were told they could vote for either Hillary or Obama if they wanted. We were given about five minutes to harangue them (me: "Senator Edwards admitted his Iraq War vote was a mistake - Hillary never has."), but I suspect most of the Edwards voters knew who there second choice was before they arrived.
Hillary's small lead from the first vote remained and it was announced she won that caucus. Incidentally, Hillary's national campaign that year was so incredibly incompetent, even though she won the most caucuses she was awarded fewer delegates. Same thing happened in Texas, and there were similar screw ups around the country.
The caucus process is awesome, because it is creates real live town meeting democracy right in front of your eyes. And it's awful because it's undemocratic. A lot of people in a tourist economy work on Saturdays, many in our armed forces are shut out, as well as those who lack the transportation or health to attend.
It also rewards candidates that have a lot of built in political infrastructure - like Hillary. So far my door has been knocked on twice by Hillary people to zero for Bernie. I'm prepared to be disappointed.
