Wednesday, March 23, 2016

What is up with the caucus system?!

I attended my very first caucus last night. I initially was overjoyed to see so many people show up to exercise their right to vote, but eventually, I began to feel uneasy about how the caucus was being run. As I walked in through the doors, people were shouting to each other trying to figure out where to register, how to find their precinct, and how much longer the caucus would be open to vote. It was chaos, to say the least.


After I went home, I began discussing with my friends better ways to vote in the primaries when someone mentioned that the Republican primaries were held online and were available to vote nearly all day long. Why wouldn't all parties be able to vote in the same way?

As we stayed up well past 12AM to see what the results were, articles surfaced about the legal action being taken in Arizona because democrats were being sent home in droves (by the thousands!) before they had a chance to vote. Apparently, many of their voter profiles had them listed as Republicans, Libertarians, etc even though they were either lifelong Democrats or had recently updated their preference to Democratic. Here you can read about what exactly went down in Arizona. After the unprofessional scene I had witnessed in Provo, I was not surprised.

After reading the many articles, I asked myself, if we can file taxes, purchase houses, and become hired for a job online, why can't every political party have the opportunity to vote online? The current voting process is archaic, unreliable, and discriminatory against certain political parties.

I think that this is largely due to the push against change, mainly in older generations who are not used to the idea of converting old systems technologically in order to simplify processes such as voting. We must change this system.

While I was excited about attending and being able to discuss my political views with my fellow Democrats, I was disappointed at how the entire process was run. What would have been more beneficial would have been to have an open discussion where people could come and share ideas the day before voting opened, and then the next day, voting should open online for a full 24 hours. I think this would solve many problems with our current caucus system.

4 comments:

  1. I agree with you, there has to be a better way. Technology needs to be a source for the advancement of the political system rather than a hindrance to those just trying to exercise their right to vote.

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  2. I agree with your comments! I was amazed by the mass chaos that the caucus was last night. I like how this spurred you to discuss with your friends how this process can be improved. What ideas did you come up with?

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  3. Having grown up in Oregon and always participating in our "vote by mail" system I never had any idea how terrible the alternative was. I now understand why my mom was always so excited when our ballots would come in the mail.

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  4. Thanks for the article Chloe! I really appreciate you incorporating other sources and references. Its interesting how much more perspective your post gains when you reference small things like that.

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