If you are interacting with the outside world, you know that the Nevada Democratic Caucus is rapidly approaching.

The Democratic Caucus is on Saturday February 22nd at 12:00pm. In order to Caucus you have to be a registered member of the Democratic Party. A voter is able to register the day of the Caucus (or at an “Early Voting” site or they can register in advance online at: https://www.nvsos.gov/sosvoterservices/Registration/Step0.aspx (you can also update your registration through the Secretary of State’s page).

While voter registration is maintained by the Nevada Secretary of State, they are not involved in facilitation of this voting process. This process is facilitated and maintained by the Nevada Democratic Party. This is very different than when we vote in the Primary Election (this year its June 9th) or the November election.

To find the location of your Caucus site, or two find information about “Early Voting” for the Caucus, visit: https://nvdems.com/2020-Caucus/. This “Early Voting” is taking place at select sites throughout Nevada. “Early voting” ends on Tuesday February 18th. If you do not participate in this process, you will have to participate in the Caucus on Saturday February 22nd if you want your vote counted.

The “Early Voting” process

This process will differ from Caucusing as all voters will select and rank their top choices for President. All voters must rank at least their top 3 choices and can rank up to 5. A voter must mark three presidential preferences. The good news is that there are volunteers present to help the voters in the process. The scantron like ballots will be tallied by machine. Ballots that are unreadable will be reviewed by a team made up of Democratic Party members. Due to the process, its best to listen carefully, ask questions and make sure you mark the ballot appropriately. This process will be very different than any other way you may have voted. There will be many ways in which a ballot will be declared void. The Party has promised that these votes will be tallied in a secure way with a verifiable chain of custody for the votes from each site. The ballots will not be tied to the individual’s name, rather a pre-identified ID number given to the voter at the “Early Voting” site. Voters will also need to follow the process and sign their ballots.

If you have a concern that others may know your preference, this is going to be the most private way of casting your vote.

The process may take some time depending on the number of people in line.

The Caucus Process

You probably have heard of the Iowa Caucus debacle. The Nevada Democratic Party is hoping to avoid the issues that Iowa had, and they’ve implemented a tallying and reporting process that is different than the one used in Iowa.

In order to participate in the Caucus, you must be a registered Democrat. You can register on site. You will also need to be in line before 12pm at your identified Caucus site. To find your site, visit https://nvdems.com/2020-Caucus/. If you’ve recently changed addresses, check the link above for the Nevada Secretary of State to see where you are registered. This is very important as you’ll have to go to the Caucus site for where you are registered.

If you are working on the Strip during the Caucus, you may be eligible to participate in one of the Caucuses on the Strip.

The Caucus process may take up to 4 hours. You must be present for the entire process in order to make sure your vote is counted. At the Caucus you will receive a preference ballot. You’ll be instructed to mark your first preference for a candidate. You will then join the other people in your precinct who have the same first preference. At this point, the votes from other members of your precinct who participated in “Early Voting” will be included to see which candidates meet the 15% threshold for moving on to the 2nd round. Any candidate who has 15% of the vote in that precinct is “viable” and will have delegates moving on to the County Democratic Convention who represent the voters for that candidate. Any participants whose first preference does not have 15% will have the option to declare their second preference amongst candidates who have hit 15%. After the “re-alignment” each vote will be counted to determine how many delegates each candidate gets from the precinct. The candidate with the most delegates wins the precinct. The candidate in the state with the most popular vote may not be the candidate with the most delegates. Think of this as a mini-Electoral College.

After final votes are tallied and delegate numbers are determined, a voter has the opportunity to “run” for the chance of being a delegate for their candidate at the County Democratic Convention. This will be in May and will require a full day of attendance as a delegate.

On Caucus day – be prepared for a long afternoon. Bring a book, feed your dog before you leave, bring a snack and water…and most importantly, make sure your friends participate in the Caucus or “Early Voting”. If you see something that concerns you, make sure you record it.