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To: hoosierboy
Aside from the other advise you have been given, I can give you additional information that may or may not be helpful, since I am from a different state than you are.

When you show up to vote on the day of the primary, the election workers should be able to tell you were the caucus will be held that evening. You must show up on time, and you need to bring proof that you voted, (your stamped voters registration -- showing which party you voted in). Most likely the caucus will be held at the voting site but not necessarily, so check.

Why should this be done in person? In Texas, this is were the resolutions are first proposed to develop the party platform. You can propose any resolution you like, and everyone in attendance will vote on it. If it passes, it then will be presented at the county convention, then on to the state, and on to the National Convention. This will possibly be your only opportunity to propose a resolution, support it, or vote it down.

There is also the possibility that the caucus will elect you to be one of their representatives to attend the county convention, and from there you could advance further to being a delegate at the state or national level. National level delegates are usually the folks that have been working in the trenches for years, so don't count on this if you are a Newbie.

One year I was a Precinct Chairman (not a big deal because nobody ran against me), and went as far as being a delegate to the state convention. (During a mid-term election year). It was very interesting and gives a lot of insight into the way that your county and state party functions, who the players are, and just what kind of conservative they are. I would highly recommend it if you get the opportunity.
27 posted on 01/13/2004 10:15:05 AM PST by RedWhiteBlue
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To: RedWhiteBlue
One other point I forgot to mention, that may or may not be the same in Iowa:

Suppose you have two Presidential candidates, A and B. Twenty people show up at the caucus, and 11 of these support candidate A and the other 9 support candidate B. They are allowed to elect 5 delegates and 5 alternates to advance to the county convention. Since the supporters of candidate A are in the majority, ALL of the delegates and alternates for the county convention will then be supporters of candidate A.

This is very important, as you can see that even though candidate B pulled in 45% of the support in the caucus, they will NOT have 45% of the precinct's delegates at the county level -- they will have zero. And, eventually it is the delegates in the national convention that determine who the party's nominee is.

So even if you do not propose any resolutions or get elected to advance as a delegate to the county convention, you will help determine how the delegation is stacked at the next level and be able to vote for or against resolutions. Your presence does have an impact.
28 posted on 01/13/2004 10:30:25 AM PST by RedWhiteBlue
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