— from Jane Alden —
Today was my second experience with caucusing. I remember nothing about the first one, eight years ago, except that there was a room full of people.
Today there was an even smaller room, full of an even greater number of people. I will probably not remember this one either. The reason for that is becoming clearer to me with each caucus experience.
Caucuses are a blur of unfocused activity, relating to an intensely important decision, that must be made, signed, and properly delivered in the midst of this unfocused blur of conversation and activity, to the right person at the right time. There are apparently no rules, nor protocols for how this gets done.
My caucus experience today was: entering a crowded room, finding my way to Precinct 22’s area, standing there, finally asking if I was supposed to fill something out, being given a form, filling it out, handing it back to a person at Precinct #22’s table. I found a chair, (no idea what was to come next), read my book, looked around for a friend I was meeting, found my friend, was told that if we had filled out the ‘form’ we had, indeed, voted, and could leave.
Incredulous, I went to a voting assistant and was told that this was so. So I had voted without realizing it! This was/is very disconcerting to me! I come from places where only ‘primaries’ exist. Simple, straightforward, open all day, go in a booth by yourself, and, with a feeling that is akin to joy and pride and gratitude all at once, clearly and obviously VOTE! I’m for that! I see no merits at all in this ‘caucus’ thing. It’s sloppy, untrustworthy, and prehistoric. The volunteers were all wonderful and kind and none of the fault of caucuses is theirs.
Lewis Carroll had it right when he had the Dodo bird explain caucuses: “The best way to explain it is to do it.’ First it marked out a race-course in a sort of circle, (‘the exact shape doesn’t matter’ it said), and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no, ‘One two, three and away!’ but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, the Dodo suddenly called out, ‘The race is over!’ and they all crowded around, panting, and asking, ‘But who has won?’”
That pretty much sums it up, Jane. Time to start lobbying the Washington State Dems to switch to primaries, so that people don’t have to choose between caucusing, taking their little kids to the Lions’ Easter egg hunt, t-ball, or the science fair, or just staying home in their jammies with another cup of coffee.
Thank you for this Jane. I have never attended the caucus, only stopped by to leave my vote this year. I found the crowds exhilarating, even made me imagine what it would be like to live in an actual living breathing democracy, but also the whole set-up (despite volunteer kindness) very confusing. And your Lewis Carroll paragraph is both delightful and apropos.
I read a statistic in the last couple of days: in primaries something over 20% of people vote, while in caucuses somewhat less than 3% vote. That seems reason enough to move to primaries.
Be on the look-out for “proposals” to be forwarded to the County and then, hopefully the State with the suggestion that we follow other sane states and do our voting in a primary, and do away with the ” sloppy, untrustworthy, and prehistoric” caucus system.
Good observations! I submitted a PROPOSAL to do away with this method of voting for our preferred candidate and switch to an open primary system. The caucus method is disenfranchising many who can not make it to caucus which is NOT democratic! My husband and I are usually gone this time of year traveling, many young voters are in universities around the nation, many elderly voters can’t get to caucus, there are family emergencies that present themselves at the last minute and there are some folks that just don’t want to go and vote this way. Everyone I talked to feels the same and I know other proposals are being made and will be made at the county level to switch to an open primary system. Hopefully they will go on to the state convention and be noted by the Washington Democratic Party. We have a primary but many people don’t realize that their vote really doesn’t count unless they show up to caucus. Caucusing is a great way to meet with your neighbors to discuss issues and elect delegates to the county and state conventions but NOT TO VOTE for our preferred candidates. The Surrogate Affidavit is very limited in the criteria to be able to use unless you fib a little and many voters don’t even realize that it is an option to vote. This has to change! Washington state is one of 13 that still caucus. Saying all this, I do applaud everyone that showed up today on Easter Weekend to make your vote be counted.
For an interesting history and etymology for “The Caucus”, check out this link:
https://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/caucus.html
While not “prehistoric”, the caucus tradition in the US is definitely historic!
What was great about today’s caucus was the passionate dialogue among voters (for both candidates). I was also pleased to see a large number of young voters. Very refreshing and encouraging.
I love caucuses! In all their sprawling noisy messy crowded splendor! I love seeing so many people actively engaged that there’s barely enough room for us all. I love listening to my friends and neighbors express how their hopes and concerns directed their choice of candidate, and that we all felt we had a safe place to do so. I love watching delegates to the convention self-select. Who chooses the delegates in primaries?
Most of my life I voted the voting booth way, and it always gave me a thrill to see the election workers with their registration books, and the row of booths, and the sun that always shone a little brighter when you walked out of the school or whatever and the flag would be flapping away. Voting by mail is super convenient, for which I love it a lot (not to mention that there can be no trust in voting machines that aren’t backed up with paper), but I’m still nostalgic for that thrill. Dropping the ballot off at the Senior Center is just another errand.
Well, if the voting booth is a thrill, the caucus is electrifying. I’m still vibrating hours later. Everyone coming together to try to work out the best course of action to take in this matter of terrifyingly global importance. “But who has won?” We have.
My first caucus. I agree with Jane’s observations, and, if it is true that fewer voters turn out for caucuses, I can see why. I would definitely vote for a primary election.
My wise husband dubbed the current caucus “vestigial” – a shadow of what caucuses perhaps used to be. Time to move on to a ballot primary in which more people can participate.
I had the privilege(chore) of running today’s caucus. Having been told that there were about 250 attendees eight years ago, we were prepared for about 400. Never in our wildest imagination did we think we would have over 600 people attend, with another 100 or so voting by surrogate affidavit (absentee).
I cannot argue with anyone who says that our room, before we broke up into precincts, was way too crowded and chaotic. I had reserved the school cafeteria, a large and modern facility, as it was the largest venue I could think of. If anyone can think of a better spot to accommodate 600 people at one time on our island, I welcome the suggestion.
It is unfortunate that directions weren’t clear. I tried to announce what would be happening several times on the microphone, but I was told that my voice was almost unintelligible through the sound system.
I would totally support going to the primary system. We already have a primary taking place anyway, so why don’t we use it to determine the Democratic nominee? While this system may have worked long ago with smaller populations, it is no longer practical nor does it bring as much participation as a primary.
I will be a delegate to the convention in Friday Harbor, and I am happy to bring along a resolution for our state party to move away from the caucus to using the primary as our official tool. I encourage all of you who agree to contact the state Democratic Party and make your voice heard as well.
I would just like to point out before we all choose primaries because statistics show that “ in caucuses, somewhat less than 3% vote”, that this does not appear to be the case for Orcas Island. If it were, the 600 who voted today would be part of a Democratic population of 20,000 people, and if you count the 100 absentees, the population would have to be at least 23,333. Sadly, Google seems unable to tell me the number of registered Democrats on Orcas Island, but if there were that many, I should think the entire island would be looking like the cafeteria did today. Ah, statistics
My two cents: I enjoyed yesterday’s noisy, crowded, energetic, and multi-generational caucus. If one desires a quieter experience, there’s always the option to participate with a write-in ballot, so no one is disenfranchised in any election. That’s how we usually vote up here anyway — from our kitchen tables. From my perspective, it was a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours being reminded of how our choices impact our entire community. My vote would be to keep the caucus. Once every four years is not a burden.
I’m with Jane, Patty, Margo, Susan and others here. Caucuses are great for activists, but an uncomfortable place for more private types, and agoraphobic types – yikes stay away!
David, thank you for your work, this years caucus, which was at least more civilized than the previous one – and please do bring along a resolution for our state party to move to a primary system, and let us know what how we can help with that.
As Annie pointed out, we had way more than a 3% participation at our caucus yesterday. What an incredible turnout! Based on our votes for legalizing marijuana and gay marriage a few years back, it would appear that two thirds to three quarters of SJI are liberals and tend to vote Democratic. But I agree that this system is antiquated and should be replaced by the general ballot. I’ll write our State party with this suggestion. My ideal would be for all States to vote in the primaries on the same day, but from what I’ve observed, this is an unlikely outcome.
Just a few more thoughts to address the more recent comments. Yes, Orcas has a very enthusiastic progressive community where certainly more than 3% participate. However, I would say that among yesterday’s crowd the majority were not necessarily registered Democrats. Many people here are not registered with a party and take pride in their independence politically. Because the Democratic Party allows anyone who is willing to declare themselves a Democrat (at least for a day), everyone but Republicans who had already participated in their caucus is entitled to participate in the Democratic caucus.
If we were to have another caucus, it would be great to have a larger meeting room to start in. I appreciate those who didn’t mind the uncomfortable circumstances, but unless there is a possibility of a larger venue, I think the more sane procedure would be to have the primary be the determining factor. For those who really enjoyed the caucus, I encourage you to get involved in the local Democratic Party. Our orientation is closer to the Greens than the mainstream national Democratic Party; otherwise I wouldn’t be involved in it. So please contact me if you wish to get involved. Thanks.
David Turnoy
376-4165
davidgeri@centurylink.net
Thank you, David. It sounds like the Friday Harbor caucus got overwhelmed, too. Good news that there are so many people interested in government, but unwieldy to manage. Best wishes and thank you for your service as a delegate.
David; for the record, the caucus in 2012 was held in the “old” school gym.
I would much prefer having the State Legislature move to a primary voting system. I attended the caucus on Saturday and was totally frustrated by the mob scene. I voted (such as it was) and went home at 10:30, disappointed in the whole experience having hoped for a much more meaningful process.
By chance, I had a few minutes to speak with our Senator, Kevin Ranker, and he assured me that the legislative democrats had been/were discussing the shift to a primary vote. I hope that I understood him correctly.
My grandaughter, Arla, and her mother, Kate, were at the caucus and I would wonder how they perceived the event. In four years Arla will be able to vote in the next Presidential election. How cool is that !!
For what it’s worth, the caucus on Waldron was simple, well organized, well attended (~40 people– not bad, considering that our total population is only around a hundred), and productive. The discussion was vibrant and interesting. I would guess that it looked more like the small town caucuses looked at the time the caucus system was invented… for what it’s worth.
Just a note to respond to Ed. I am not sure why you mentioned the old school gym. Yes, that is where the caucus took place eight years ago, which was before I was here, when Hillary and Obama fought it out. I attended the caucus four years ago, when nine of us attended to renominate Obama; that was held in the cafeteria. I have subbed in the old gym, and I have eaten lunch with students in the new cafeteria, and I felt that the cafeteria would be the better venue. However, I don’t think either was equipped to handle our crowd.
I think Thea’s comment captures well the idea for caucuses originally, that locals in a reasonably small community would gather together to discuss the issues. In fact, during the lead-up to the American Revolution, one of the ways the colonists stayed informed was to take off during their lunch break to the local pub to discuss the important issues of the day. They had no TV or internet, so they had to work at getting and sharing information. Unfortunately we are now so big that this is impossible except at places like Waldron.
You know, I just read over these comments and am so happy that there is so much interest in this topic. I want to be clear that I consider that the volunteers, without exception, were, as I said, wonderful, and, David, it could not have been better organized. It is the Caucus system itself that is the problem. For those of you who love the communal quality of it, I can understand that, but for a gathering prior to, or after the actual voting. Voting itself is a personal, private experience. When people are not sure they actually even voted, when there are people who leave because of the confusion and chaos, when they don’t come for the same reason, this is a clue that the system does not work properly. Caucuses will disappear, and rightly so, because they are too obstructive. The path between a voter and a ballot box has no business being anything but open, clear, free, and safe.