Dodge County Dems ready for caucus

The Dodge County Democratic Party is sponsoring its first presidential caucus vote training from 2-4 p.m. Sunday at Keene Memorial Library in Fremont.

The training session is in response to the Nebraska Democratic Party having its first presidential caucus since the 1920s on Feb. 9. Republican presidential candidates will be decided on at the May primary.

“The hope is (the race) won’t be over by then,” said Richard Register, treasurer of the county party.

Christina Boydston, chairwoman of the county party, said the caucus was set in February in hopes that Nebraska Democrats can have more of a say in the selection of their candidate.

Democratic National Committee rules state the earliest the state could hold a caucus is Feb. 5.

“A Tuesday was a logistical nightmare,” Register said as to why the Saturday date was picked. “We decided to do it the ninth so we could do it by ourselves.”

Three locations are planned for precincts to decide their candidate �” in Fremont, North Bend and a town in the northern part of the county.

“It’s February, so we don’t know what the weather will be like,” Boydston said. “The tricky part is getting everyone in the same room at the same time.”

It is not like a standard election where voters go into a booth and cast a ballot, but a meeting where voters can try to get added support for their particular candidate by swaying other voters at the caucus meeting.

Based on the caucus votes, delegates pledged to each

candidate in proportion to the votes they received will be selected to attend the county convention in June 2008.

“If you don’t go to the caucus meeting, you cannot be elected a delegate,” Register said.

Since the county’s voters have not participated in a caucus, trainers are being brought in from Lincoln to show people how it’s done.

“To make a difference, you have to know the rules �” how things are done,” Register said. “Anybody who wants to know more about the caucuses and their candidate should attend.”

While the training is being done by the Democratic Party, anyone can attend the Sunday training, the two said. Parties can be changed prior to the caucus and even on the night of the caucus, but the voter’s party affiliation can’t change back until after the May primary election.

“It’s a grass roots thing,” Boydston said. “We’re trying to get people excited about the process. It’s getting people whipped up for the election.”

Democrats will still vote for a presidential candidate in the May primary election, but the state’s delegates will go to the candidate who won the caucus.

“The primary will be a complete beauty contest,” Register said. “(Presidential candidates) will be on the ticket to vote for, but it will mean nothing.”

For more information on the training, visit www.dodgecodems.org. An additional training session is planned for Nov. 17.