Overview of Colorado’s Caucus / Assembly / Primary Structure
Colorado has a system where candidates first run in a Primary Election against members of their own party and then in a General Election against a member of another party. Obviously, to compete in the General Election you have to first win your Party’s Primary Election.
To compete in a Primary Election an individual must be placed on the ballot - there are two ways to accomplish that: (a) they can go through the Caucus process; and (b) they can bypass the Caucus and petition directly onto the ballot.
Caucus Description:
There are 387 physical Precincts in El Paso County.
Every precinct has about 1200 voters (including Republicans, Democrats and others).
Every two years the Republicans from those 387 precincts get together for a neighborhood meeting called a “Caucus.” At the Caucus, the Republicans make important decisions for the next two year period. Each Caucus meets individually, usually at a local school.
They choose one or two people to be in charge of the Precinct (these individuals are often called the Precinct Chair Person or the Precinct Captain)
Precinct Committee People have a number of responsibilities including representing the interests of their Precinct at Central Committee Meetings and helping to get out the vote in November.
They choose people who live in the precinct to represent that precinct at other specific Republican Party meetings (those meetings are called Assemblies and/or Conventions and the people selected to represent a precinct are called “Delegates.”)
Any Caucus participant can propose specific issue statements called "Resolutions" to be voted on at the County Assembly.
And this year - for the first time ever - all the Republicans who attend their Caucus will get to participate in a state-wide Presidential Preference Straw Poll.
Mark your calendar for the 2008 Caucus on Feb 5th at 7PM. Caucuses are very important because they are the most local and most “grass-roots” level in which every citizen can participate in their political party.
Caucuses are an important step for candidates to participate in the Republican Primary. The Delegates selected at the Caucus participate in one or more of the following Assemblies:
El Paso County Assembly/Convention
4th Judicial District Assembly/Convention
5th Congressional District Assembly/Convention
Colorado State Assembly/Convention
Caucus Versus Petition:
Why should a candidate bother with participating in the Caucus/Assembly/Primary process? The alternative is to petition onto a Colorado ballot... candidates can petition for many offices with as little as 1000 signatures.
While a petition of 1000 signatures could all come from just one or two precincts and neighborhood, candidates in the Caucus/Assembly process must reach out to a much larger geographic and demographic group of people. This means more people at the grassroots level are involved in the selection of the candidate.
The Assembly process is structured to allow only candidates with more than 10% support at the Assembly to continue into the Primary. This personal, grassroots structure enables a healthy Primary debate on the substantive differences among just a few candidates instead of a crowded field.
Participants in the Caucus/Assembly process are proactive, engaged individuals. On the other hand, signatures on a petition can be collected from people who may not even be regular voters or care much about one candidate over another.
The final point also relates to the participants of the Caucus. These proactive, engaged individuals are also often the backbone of local grassroots efforts on behalf of various candidates. Whether someone is running for a local legislative seat or a national congressional seat - this grassroots support is often critical to their success.
Important Dates:
Feb 5 ~ Caucuses (387 in El Paso County)
Feb 9-12 ~ Division Meetings (49 in El Paso County)
March 8 ~ El Paso County Republican Assembly
May 30 ~ 5th Congressional District Assembly
May 31 ~ Colorado State Republican Assembly / Convention
