Republican caucuses will be held across the state on Saturday, March 3, from 10 a.m. to noon, and for Enumclaw voters will likely be at Auburn High School.
Caucuses are neighborhood gatherings sponsored by the Democratic and Republican parties. The caucuses gauge the support for each presidential candidate, and those proportions are used to allocate delegates to county, legislative, congressional and state conventions, where national convention delegates are eventually chosen. The gatherings also deal with party platforms and other internal matters. Read more here.
So far, candidates and have visited Western Washington, and was here Friday. Mitt Romney is scheduled to be in the area March 1.
Last year, the state suspended the primary system due to budget concerns, according to the Secretary of State. If you would like to participate in the caucuses, you can find your Enumclaw caucus location here: http://www.kcgop.org/caucus-locator/. You'll need your precinct number, which you can find at King County Voter Lookup (https://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/voterlookup.aspx).
How the Caucus System Works
A caucus is a gathering of registered voters organized by precincts or neighborhoods where people meet to elect delegates to the County Conventions, express their view of different items in the Republican Party Platform and state your presidential preference in our Straw Poll.
This is also voters’ only chance to register their vote for who the Republicans will nominate to run against President Obama.
In order to participate in the caucus you must be a registered voter. If you’re a registered voter, you will need to find your caucus location by clicking here.
Caucuses will occur Saturday, March 3 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Participants are encouraged to arrive at caucus location around 9:30 a.m. to check in. In order to facilitate a rapid check-in process voters are encouraged to bring their voter registration card so they can find their precinct. Voters do check in by precinct. Caucus locations will have a list of voters registered in those precincts.
A voter must caucus in the precinct where they are registered to vote, therefore it is imperative that you identify which precinct you are registered to vote in and attend the correct caucus location.
Once you are checked in you will sit and caucus with your precinct. If it is a pooled caucus, you will be instructed where your precinct will be conducting business. (A pooled caucus is simply when multiple precincts are caucusing in the same location, generally a public building) An individual caucus typically meets in a smaller building, sometimes a household.
Once the caucus is underway your precinct will conduct important business. You will elect delegates to the County Convention, where you will elect delegates to the State Convention and amend and vote on the County Platform. This is the most important business of the caucus. Anyone is able to run to be a delegate to the County Convention. There is a cost associated with attending your county convention, and that fee is due in the week or two following the caucus.
When you sign in, you participate in the presidential straw poll by writing down your presidential preference.
After caucus delegates and alternates are nominated and elected, you may fill out an optional questionnaire that asks for your feedback on what the Republican Party platform should be. The caucus is scheduled to adjourn at 12 p.m. The statewide results of the presidential straw poll will be released to the media on Saturday early evening.
To learn more about the caucus process, see these FAQs from the Washington State Republican Party.
--Information from the Washington State Republican Party Caucus
Are planning to attend a caucus? Patch wants to talk with you beforehand! Please contact us at april.chan@patch.com.
