Tuesday, Feb. 3, is caucus night in Minnesota. But what does that even mean?
At their core, precinct caucuses are a chance for you to share your thoughts with the political party of your choice. It’s the smallest or most localized gathering of the Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. Both parties describe them as neighborhood meetings.
The explanation can feel like word soup. But caucuses shouldn’t be a mysterious or daunting meeting — they’re a key part of democratic elections, and people are encouraged to participate.
“Caucuses can be a forgotten component of government in many ways,” said Derek Ricke, president and CEO of the Park Rapids Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. “And it’s important for voices to be heard and to be heard early in the process.”
Ricke shared his perspective at the Park Rapids chapter of the League of Women Voters’ webinar on precinct caucuses on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focuses on civic engagement, and the webinar’s goal was to help demystify the caucus process.
The full hour-long webinar is available on YouTube. It covers the when, where and why of caucuses, what participation looks like and includes presentations from the GOP and DFL.
One of the most interesting points the League of Women Voters shared is how limited caucus participation is: Roughly 1% of eligible voters participate.
“Within Minnesota, we have incredible voter engagement and turnout within elections,” Ricke said. “We have significant work to do in terms of our engagement with caucuses and primaries.”
If you don’t have an hour, below are some basics to get you ready to attend your local precinct caucus.
And if you’re overwhelmed by all these details and terms? Just go. You’ll learn a lot by just attending, and from there it’s up to you how involved you want to be.
Who can attend a caucus? Where is it? Do I have to be a member of a party?
First, you have to live in the precinct to participate in the caucus.
Participating generally means casting votes at the precinct caucus. While it can vary, most precincts are open to those who aren’t eligible to participate, such as younger members of the family, also attending.
Parties determine what the precincts are and where the caucus is hosted. How big your precinct is can vary. For example, Itasca County Republicans have five precincts, and Minneapolis Republicans have 137 precincts.
You can find where your caucus is, for both parties, on the Secretary of State’s website. Generally, doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting starts at 7 p.m.
In Minnesota, you don’t register to be part of a party. Both parties’ constitutions say that, if you’re going to participate in a caucus, you should agree with the party’s basic principles.
For the DFL, that’s to “advance the interests of the Democratic Party nationally, sustain and advance the principles of liberal democracy, and uphold human rights, civil rights and constitutional government.”
The GOP outlines more specific principles, including the rights laid out in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, that the state “should only collect taxes to fund essential government functions,” and government should be limited and accountable. There are also principles related to family, education, stewardship and productivity of property, justice and rule of law and national security.
Finally, you have to meet the age requirements. Republicans allow anyone who is eligible to vote by the next election to participate. In the DFL, you have to be 16 by the next election, though some activities are limited to those 18 and older.
Who runs caucuses?
Caucuses are run by the parties, not by the state government. That means they choose where the caucus is, the agenda, how the meeting is run and more.
Any questions or concerns should be addressed to the party.
But the government does have a few rules around caucuses. First, the major parties have to hold them. The parties must also attempt to accommodate accessibility.
Finally, the state restricts other public meetings on caucus night. No local government, school or state agency can host a meeting after 6 p.m.
You also have the right to take time off work to attend, but you have to give your employer a 10-day written notice.
What’s decided on caucus night?
This also varies just a bit between parties, but the Secretary of State’s Office lays out three main activities: choosing volunteers to help run the party, discussing issues and ideas for the party to support and choosing delegates for conventions.
Precinct elections are the official phrase for choosing the volunteers. You elect local officers to lead your local party. These people are in charge of organizing party activities for the next two years.
There may be a more casual discussion of local issues, but the formal part of this activity is passing resolutions to guide the party platform. More on this in the next section.
Delegates are the people who will represent your precinct at political conventions. These people have an opportunity to help influence party politics more, but with a lower time commitment: You just have to attend a convention or two.
The next step up from precincts are political organizing unit conventions. This just means your county or senate or house district. There, delegates elect people to lead those units and select delegates for the state and congressional conventions.
There will also likely be talk of candidates at precinct caucuses. Your local representatives or senators may stop by. You might also have a chance to cast your preference for the governor's race. While you’re not deciding the candidate, these “straw polls” can influence who is eventually selected, especially when there’s not a clear frontrunner.
Remember, local offices, like city council and mayor, school board and county commissioners, are nonpartisan, meaning there is no party endorsement.
What’s a resolution? What’s a party platform?
A party platform is simply a list of policies or principles a party believes in. It’s updated every two years, meaning it’s more current and specific than a party’s general principles.
At precinct caucuses, you can introduce a resolution. These are position statement meant that are adopted at the precinct level and can work their way up the chain to be included at higher levels of the party.
“It’s a good reminder of how powerful a voice is at this level,” said Carolynne White, president of the Park Rapids Area League of Women Voters. “Because you really can get an idea, in at least [some] ways, at your precinct caucus. And it may not go beyond the next two levels or anything. But the next time around, you can try again. Pretty soon, things shift.”
Resolutions must be in writing, but each party has a specific format for them. Contact your party for more details.
What comes after caucus night?
Caucus night is the first step of the party cycle. After this, similar activities keep happening – discussing issues, developing a platform, supporting candidates – but at higher and higher party levels.
The next step is the political organizing unit conventions, usually for senate or house district or county. That’s where local office candidates are endorsed.
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Next comes the congressional district convention to endorse U.S. House candidates and select national delegates, then the state convention for statewide offices and the party platform and then the national convention, though that’s only in presidential election years.
