MEMO from the Iowa Democratic Party
To: Interested Parties
From: Iowa Democratic Party
Date: December 31st, 2011
Re: Iowa Democratic Caucus Procedures
On Tuesday,
January 3rd, 2012, the Iowa Democratic Party will hold its First in
the Nation Precinct Caucuses across the state. In addition to
conducting the
standard caucus business of electing delegates and precinct committee
persons,
and discussion on platform resolutions, Democrats will use the 2012
Democratic
Caucuses as a tool to organize towards Democratic victories at all
levels in
2012.
On caucus
night, Democrats will hear directly from their Democratic candidates,
including
a live address from President Obama. Additionally, they’ll learn how to
get
involved in their community and build support for our candidates as we
approach
the general election.
As a
refresher to many members of the press who have covered the Democratic
Caucuses
in the past, the Iowa Democratic Party has prepared this memo to cover
the
logistics and structure of our party’s caucuses.
This year
the IDP has 1774 precincts and 246 caucus locations.
If you
would like to attend a Democratic caucus, please contact IDP
Communications
Director Sam Roecker at sroecker@iowademocrats.org
or (515) 782-1951.
Caucus Night Agenda
(Note: Many caucus locations will
hold multiple precincts. As a result, precincts will meet in one large
group at
the beginning of the evening, before splitting into individual
precincts to
address official caucus business. Location managers are assigned to run
the
large group portion, before temporary caucus chairs take over in
individual
precincts.)
6:30 PM: Registration
Opens
7:00 PM: Caucus Called
to Order
Location manager reads
agenda for the evening
2012 Campaign
Presentation
-
Local
surrogate discusses the importance of getting involved and electing
Democrats
-
President Obama will be calling and live streaming via webcast
into sites across the state
7:30 PM*: Presentation
by the Iowa Democratic
Party
Letters from elected officials may be read aloud, any
officials present may address the caucus
7:45 PM*: Group
splits into individual precincts
Election of Permanent
Precinct Chair and Precinct Secretary
Election of Delegates
and Alternates
Election of Platform
& Committee on Committees Members
Election of Precinct
Committee Persons
Resolution Discussion
and Adoption
8:30 PM*: Caucus
Adjourns
*Times may vary
depending upon caucus location
Delegate Selection Process
Iowa
Democrats who wish to become a delegate to the county, district, state,
or
national convention must begin that process on caucus night by running
in their
precinct. Each precinct is apportioned delegates based on the size of
their
county’s convention and past Democratic performance.
Once
elected on caucus night, a delegate must attend their county convention
and run
as a delegate to the district and state convention. From there, they
would be
elected as a delegate to the national convention in Charlotte, NC.
There will
be a total of 1200 delegates elected to the state convention, which
will take
place on June 16th, 2012 in Des Moines.
Resolution Process
Caucus
goers may submit a resolution in their precinct on caucus night.
Adopted
resolutions will be given to the county platform committee who will
determine
which resolutions are presented at the county convention.
Preference Groups
Democrats
will only form preference groups if at least 15 percent of the
attendees wish
to do so. If the caucus agrees to form preference groups, delegates are
proportionally awarded to any group that meets the viability threshold
(15 percent
in most precincts).
If a group
is not viable when preference groups are initially formed, those
individuals
may realign and support a viable candidate. Delegates are then assigned.
Results Reporting
The Iowa
Democratic Party will collect data from caucus locations and make it
available
to reporters throughout the night. Members of the Iowa Democratic Party
media
list will receive a link to results once most precincts have reported
their
data. To be added to this list contact Sam Roecker, sroecker@iowademocrats.org
or
(515)
782-1951.