The Idaho Democratic Party will hold a presidential candidate caucus on May 23 from 5 to 8 p.m. local time, giving Democratic members in the state the opportunity to vote for the party's presidential nominee.
Caucuses are new this year, with Democrats holding their caucuses two days after the May 21 primary.The Idaho Republican Party has already held a presidential candidate rally March 2.
President Joe Biden secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination in March, but there are six candidates eligible to appear on the Democratic caucus ballot in the Gem State, the Idaho Statesman said. Democratic Party Executive Director Jared DeRoof said. party.
Those candidates are
- biden
- david olscamp
- Jason Palmer
- Armando Perez Cerrato
- dean phillips
- Marianne Williamson
In addition to choosing a presidential candidate, Democrats will also vote on delegates to attend the Idaho Democratic Party's summer convention in Moscow June 22-23, DeRoof said.
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What to expect from the Democratic Presidential Caucus
Location Democratic caucus site goes online. Every county has at least one caucus site, and voters must attend the caucus site in the county where they are registered to vote. In counties with multiple caucus sites, such as Ada and Canyon counties, voters can visit any of the sites. They want to live in their home counties, DeRoof said.
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DeRoof said voters must be affiliated with the Democratic Party or be an independent voter to vote in the Democratic caucus. People can register to vote or change their party affiliation to Democratic Party at the caucus venue. But DeRoof said voters cannot participate in the Democratic caucus if they have already participated in the Republican presidential caucus or any other presidential caucus this year. In addition, interested voters who are not yet 17 years old when the Democratic caucuses are held can register to vote and participate in the caucuses if they turn 18 years old before the November 5th general election. It is permitted to do so. Voters are also allowed to bring their younger children with them to caucus meetings.
The caucuses are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. local time and end at 8 p.m. DeRoof said anyone in line for the 8 p.m. Democratic caucus can vote.
When voters check in at the caucus site on May 23, they will be given a ballot to fill out and submit, and can leave if they wish. DeRoof said he only votes once and his goal is for the entire process to take less than 10 minutes.
“Our first priority is to get voters involved in a way that is familiar to them and with as few barriers as possible,” DeRoof said in a phone interview.
Democrats would have wanted a presidential primary instead of a caucus.
This is the first presidential caucus for Idaho voters this year, after the state Legislature apparently inadvertently eliminated the presidential primary last year.
Passed by the Idaho Legislature in 2023 House Bill 138Supporters argued the election was aimed at postponing the state's presidential primary from March and holding it in May along with other states' primaries. But instead of rolling back presidential primaries, House Bill 138 abolished them altogether. So-called trailer bills aimed at fixing this problem have not been introduced by the House State Affairs Committee at the end of the 2023 session, and lawmakers are unable to agree to a special session at the end of 2023 to reinstate presidential primaries. There wasn't. .
In response, the state's political parties decided to hold presidential caucuses without holding primaries.
“We didn’t want this caucus system,” DeRoof said. “Frankly, caucuses are not a good way for people to vote, so we worked with the Republican Party to try to fix this problem. We are not happy with the system, but I’m making the most of it.”
Primaries and caucuses are different for a variety of reasons. One reason is that caucuses are run entirely by political parties, not states or counties. The Republican caucus also requires all voters to attend caucuses in person, including military personnel stationed out of state, religious missionaries, those who have to work, those who are traveling, and those with accessibility issues. People and people with disabilities were no exception. They lacked transportation.
Democrats, meanwhile, are offering absentee ballots to voters who are unable to vote in person due to military service, disability or illness, work, childcare obligations, school or inability to travel. Voters can request absentee ballots onlineand the deadline to request an absentee ballot. It's 5pm Mountain Time on May 16th.
“We strive to be as accessible as possible and ultimately make the best of a bad situation. We look forward to seeing you at these events,” DeRoof said. .
Unlike the Republican caucus, journalists will be allowed to observe and report on the process inside the Democratic caucus as long as they are registered with the Democratic Party, DeRoof said. Only registered Republicans and their children were allowed to attend the March Republican caucus. That meant news reporters and independent observers who were not registered Republicans could not watch the Republican caucuses.
