Posted on 12/06/2015 4:46:39 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Yeah...like routing votes for Trump or Cruz directly to the shredders, conveniently placed at each caucus site.
Hold an election with actual voting on machines rather than a caucus event with paper ballots.
Maybe a higher turnout of elgible voters would happen. A much higher turnout occurs in their
general elections.
I’ve definitely got a bad feeling about this.
There was an obvious motive to cheat in 2012 when the Establishment candidate, Mr. Romney, was being challenged by several conservatives. This year, neither of the two front runners, Trump and Cruz, are Establishment favorites.
Relax. The Iowa Caucus presidential preference poll has always been rather casual because the results didn’t award any delegates or give any advantage besides bragging rights.
That’s changed a bit this cycle, but votes will still be counted in everyone’s presence. Since Iowa’s first status is always being challenged, there’s powerful bipartisan pressure to keep the voting clean.
Also, candidates with a strong organization have at least a partial count of their own votes in each of the 1700 or so locations.
The caucus format is designed to avoid high turn out....they only want those who care enough to caucus, which is a greater commitment than simply voting.
I’m not saying it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but the last thing they are going to do is turn the Iowa Caucuses into a normal standard primary election event.
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I understand and agree. The only way it will become a standard primary election is
if the citizens rise up and demand such. And admittedly I don't know if that is Party
rules or state law.
Socialist D or socialist R!
Iowa is an overrated pissant state which has voted GOP in November exactly once in the last 30 years. For the record, it was one of 10 states to vote for Dukakis in his 40 state blowout loss in 1988.
Well that's true, but that will never happen. Iowans LOVE their little unique corrupt caucus and it's way outsized emphasis. They are arrogant about it. The only thing that would cause them to rise up would be someone trying to make it a normal primary
Tradition. That, and a old classmate has told me the Caucas makes it so the parties can weed out lesser candidates. To be blunt, 2012 was a bug, it was a feature.
I was just looking at the caucus vs primary selection method in the states/territories
for the 2016 GOP selection.
Caucuses .. 18 includes 4 territories
Primaries .. 37 includes 1 territory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_presidential_primaries,_2016
How are local precinct party chairs and county officers selected where you live? How do normal people get a say in the party platform where you live? Is it all top down?
The Iowa Caucuses are just neighborhood political party grass-roots housekeeping. The non-binding presidential preference poll was added to party organizational meetings around 1972 to add some interest to generally boring party meetings.
We have a caucus system here in WA state ... a weird hybrid thing ... but basically, the party determines the rules and controls the process.
I hate our caucus system. The only thing it does, IMO, is give the party apparatus my name and phone number so they can call me a gazillion times asking for donations.
And living out here in a late primary state ... the nominee is usually already decided before we cast one vote.
good breakdown....but to the mind of the Iowan, the magic of their little Caucus is not only the caucus format, but the fact that they get about an 18 month campaign in their state. They literally want to chat with all these people one on one, and many of them get to do that. Then you add the “first in the nation” to that....and they have their absurdly important role.
And yet, when it’s all said and done, rarely does the Iowa winner do anything. One of the great paradoxes in American politics.
And oh, the only reason ethanol is an issue? The placement of the Iowa caucus. That’s the cancer of it....
The non-binding presidential preference poll was added to party organizational meetings
around 1972 to add some interest to generally boring party meetings.
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Where I’ve lived it has always been a ballot process on a set date and registered voters
go to the polls and cast a ballot to select the nominee.
But how are local party officers selected? How is the state party platform determined?
select by party meetings at the local level and works way up.
From chaos to corruption.
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