My Washington State Caucus Experience
I went to my caucus this afternoon, and it just wasn’t what I expected or hoped for.
It matters not whether I like or dislike the caucus format. It’s what Washington State has had for years. This year is the first year of a presidential primary, although the delegate selection process is still heavily weighted toward the caucus system.
My caucus was held at a local area church. Registration was to begin at 1 pm, with a call to order at 1:30 pm. By 1:00 the parking lot was full, and drivers were being directed to nearby business lots and residential neighborhoods for parking. I was excited. This is what the democratic process is supposed to be about — grassroots involvement.
I had read lots of comments from previous posts about corrupt the process was, and how controlled it was by the political establishment. That belief did not bear out at my caucus. In fact, the reverse seemed to be true, causing an entirely different set of issues and problems.
Here are my observations of the process:
- People should refrain from wearing heavy perfume to small events. I’ve been battling some serious allergies problems for the past week, and I had to take up a post by the door in order to breathe.
- People were allowed to sign in, designating their “preference” of candidate, and then leave prior to the call to order. This seems to defeat the purpose of a caucus in my mind, but the precinct chair said it was fine. Interestingly enough, those who left tended to be the youngest in age.
- Despite record turn outs for caucuses and primaries across the country, there was not adequate room. My precinct met in a hallway, where it was hard to hear from one end to the other. There was one chair available for seating.
- People were in a hurry to have the process done and over. There was a sense of rushing to be out the door. At 1:34 (it had not yet even been called to order), there were complaints about how long things were taking.
- There were a set of rules and procedures that were distributed along with an agenda. Neither were followed. It wasn’t a purposeful hijacking of the process, it was a lack of strong leader (and is some cases there was no leader present at all) to shepherd the process.
- People were, by and large, fairly congenial. There was frustration over the lack of organization and that not knowing what was going on. There was frustration over the process not being followed.
I had a warm, fuzzy notion that there would be a discussion of sorts, a chance for people to ask questions and be heard. That some people who showed up would be undecided, and following a spirited discussion would make their decision.
That didn’t happen. Here’s what did:
Someone stood on a chair in the hall and ask if anyone wanted to speak on behalf of Candidate X. There was mumbling as everyone tried to overcome their shy natures, but someone finally said a few words. Then, someone was asked to speak for Candidate Y. When the second person finished, the person on the chair asked “OK is anyone interested in changing their preference.” There was silence in the hallway. The person on the chair said okay we’re done — and we were.
I think it’s important to follow rules and procedures when it comes to these kind of things. I think it’s important to give everyone the opportunity to be heard, and that didn’t happen. (To be fair, after everyone started to disperse, the precinct chair reappeared and offered to do a “do-over” if that would keep people happy.)
The process was a disaster, filled with lots and lots of things that should have been done differently. But the issues and problems didn’t occur because the system or the people are corrupt. They occurred because the caucus system is full of neighbors who mean well, and want to make a difference, but have no experience to manage or lead the process. With a couple of exceptions, we really were the blind leading the blind.
At the end of the day, with the procedures followed properly, the outcome of my caucus vote would be the same. What would be different, however, is that people would feel that they had a chance to be heard, and as such would not feel quite so disenfranchised.
NOTE: I’ve enjoyed talking and reading about the different experiences people have had, not just here in Washington but around the country. It’s a fascinating look into the hearts, minds, and psyche of our respective cities. It speaks a lot about who we are as a society. However, this is the end of the political posts here at The Seattle Traveler. If you wish to share a comment about your caucus experience, feel free to do so, but please be respectful, and do not turn the comments into a political campaign.
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7 Comments
Interesting to hear about your area of WA. Here’s my issue with the state caucuses. Many seem to be listing rules like, kids are welcome, but may be turned away if we’re too crowded. I’ve talked to parents in a couple states who noted this.
So, that’s sort of an issue, since obviously, I’m not sending my six year old off to drive home if they want him to leave. That’s not very friendly towards families who have to bring their kids places with them. I think they need to make it a priority from the start to get kids interested in politics anyhow. But, that’s just a view from one mama.
I like your take on why it was so disorganized though, interesting stuff.
You’re right, Jennifer, there seemed to be a lot of variation in the rules, and who knows what was really follolwed at each caucus. (I did get a kick out of the mental picture of your six year old driving home, though!)
I watched some election news on television, and I know that what happened at other locations was different from my own experience. Or maybe, because there were television cameras there, the effort was made to get organized and make things look good.
Regardless of the disorganization of the group and the process, I’m glad that I went.
We were at the same caucus I believe, and the biggest problem was the lack of room in the Church. There was no practical way to have a discussion in a small crowded hallway. The person standing on the chair was trained as an election worker and was helpful, but didn’t do anything to encourage more discussion. Some people were in a hurry and pushed to end the process. This was a great experience and hopefully it will result in more support for the party next time around.
I’m certainly glad that I almost got to participate in Democratic democracy. I was late by 4 minutes. I arrive at my caucus location at 1:34 and was informed that the vote had already been taken. This would have been a joke but it was not funny. Why were the caucuses from 1:00 to 5:00 when the important vote was taken at 1:30?
Further, I see no reason why the state is spending the millions of dollars to hold the primary elections when the Democratic party does not use the results at all in choosing its candidates.
My experience was very frustrating, distasteful. and furthered my belief that the Democratic party does not want or care to hear from the Washington citizens.
John – Yes, I believe we were at the same caucus.
The woman on the chair told some of the folks that she was a lawyer there to oversee the process. Perhaps she was a “trained election worker.” If so, she should have known how to run the caucus, and her actions are even more disgraceful. Shame on her.
Since nothing that occurred would have changed the results (except maybe for the teenagers leaving prior to the call to order), it may just be a case of “no blood, no foul.”
Still, I felt better about it when I believed it was just neighbors trying to do the best that they could.
I live on Bainbridge Island. We had at least eight precincts meeting at the Middle School. My precinct had over 250 people show up and we were only one of three meeting in the gym. We tried to follow the process but the only real discussion had to happen one on one because of the noise level. People could and did change their minds but the whole thing was wild.
In the future, among other things, there needs to be handicapped seating available and some way of having small group discussions
[...] Luckily, I’ve always lived in states that had elections, not a caucus. So the caucus process has always been a bit of a mystery to me. And if you think you’d prefer the caucus process over a primary; where you might have a chance to convince your neighbors why your candidate is the best for the job; think again. Check out the disastrous caucus experience that Mary Jo recently had in Washington state, at The Seattle Traveler. [...]