Precinct Caucus: An Exercise in Grassroots Democracy or Futility?

COMMENTARY | Before my husband, Jeff, and I attended the Republican caucus in Douglas County, Nev., we assumed our vote would hold the same power as a primary vote. We were wrong.

Our precinct chairman, Bob Ballou, informed eleven of us who bothered to attend the meeting after voting that this was just a preference vote and wouldn't amount to much in the long run.

At the end of March, the county caucus will hold yet another vote and plank discussion meetings all that day, thus repeating the process we did today. The votes and many of the proposals and resolutions presented at today's caucus may not even make it through the County Caucus to the State Convention.

We were all disappointed at the time, effort, and money wasted in this redundant exercise. One attendee, Steve Shaffer, said, "This is why the Republican Party doesn't win. They make things too complicated."

According to an article in the Record Courier, hundreds signed a petition to return to the state primary process that had been held until 2008.

In an article in the Reno-Gazette Journal, Republican leaders sited poor statewide attendance as a reason to return to the presidential primary.

The State of Nevada stills holds a primary, but the presidential candidates are not included. Only proposals are on the ballot for voter approval. According to Ballou, the State claims the primary is too expensive; but the local party organization has to foot the bill for the caucuses.

While there were 43 who voted in our precinct, only eleven met to discuss proposals and resolutions to be taken to the County Caucus. Also, five delegates were chosen to attend that caucus, but there weren't enough people to select alternates.

Our resolution echoed the petition in stating that we wanted the old primary process to be resumed. We also wanted it to be an open primary, allowing voters to choose candidates without having to join a political party.

Ballou told us that would be very unlikely and it was left off the resolution statement.

While this process showed how important individual participation is, Jeff and I walked away from the caucus feeling that it was an exercise in futility.

Ballou told us the Republican Party holds these caucuses so that voters will "get a warm, fuzzy feeling that they've done something significant at the grassroots level. Everything political begins at the grassroots."

There were some positives to be acknowledged, though. Nearly 20 percent of the Republicans in our neighborhood had voted in this caucus. And Ron Paul had received 20 percent of the vote.

Besides that, Jeff and I were able to meet and get to know a few more of our neighbors. That in itself is a good reason to attend these events.

Caryn Haller, "Republicans turn out to vote in Douglas" Record Courier

Ray Hagar, "GOP causuc bust may spur switch to primary" Reno-Gazette Journal.