Ferry: It’s time to caucus
Valley Voices
In a previous column, I discussed what a caucus is and went through the history of the caucus system. This time we’ll get down to the details.
What is the date, time and location of the caucus?
As proscribed by state law, all major political parties will hold a caucus, with the Eagle County Republicans’ slated for Thursday, March 3, promptly at 6 p.m. at the Eagle County Building at 500 Broadway in Eagle.
Who can attend?
The caucus is open to the public but in order to participate in the voting process or to be elected to a position of precinct committee person, delegate or alternate, you must be registered to vote in the state of Colorado and be affiliated with the Republican Party at least 22 days prior to the caucus. Additionally, you must be a resident of the precinct that you wish to participate with for 22 days prior to the caucus. For Eagle County, that means you must complete all of the necessary registration by Feb. 9.
How do you register?
The easiest and most efficient way is to register online. By doing so you can avoid the long lines at check-in and just pick up your packet of information in the express line. Preregistration online will only take a couple of minutes and you can do that at caucus@cologop.org. You will then receive a prompt to fill in your address and zip code. With a few more clicks, you’ll be ready to go.
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What happens at the caucus?
Attendees will be grouped by precinct and district and will start by electing a chair and secretary for the night’s event. And while we’ve got everyone in the room, we take this opportunity to recruit election judges and volunteers for all upcoming events.
The first order of official business is to elect two precinct committee persons from each precinct to serve as local officers of the Eagle County Republican Party Central Committee. The job of the PCP is to act as a liaison between the Eagle County Executive Committee and registered Republicans in their precinct. They will also vote on local party issues as well as elect the Eagle County Republican Executive Committee. A person may be elected as a precinct committee person in absentia if they are unable to attend and have someone willing to nominate them.
Secondly, delegates and alternates to the county assembly will be elected. The Republican county assembly is scheduled for March 24 at 6 p.m. at the Eagle County Building in Eagle.
The last item of business to discuss and approve or reject are resolutions to the party platform. These resolutions will be forwarded to the county assembly for action and can be prepared ahead of time by using the form on eaglegop.com.
Are guests/observers allowed?
You bet. And in the past we’ve had many. Some were guests of local registered Republicans and some were here on vacation and just wanted to be a part of the process.
In addition to the required business of the caucus, candidates may be present as well as provide material on the their campaigns.
So that’s the caucus in a nutshell. Next we’ll move to the county assembly and then the district and state assemblies. Since there is no presidential race this year, there is no national convention.
But remember, if you want to be a delegate or alternate to the county assembly, you must be elected at the caucus. This is your chance to participate and be heard. This is your chance to help choose the leaders of the party. This is your chance. Don’t blow it. In the next column, we’ll cover the county assembly
For questions, contact kaye@kayeferry.com or call 970-376-5100.
Kaye Ferry is the chair of the Eagle County Republicans.
