Ode to the Texas Split Caucus System

[Realitycheck]

We got spirit, yes we do! We got spirit, how about you?

We got more! We got more! We got more!

 

 

This was so silly. Once they closed the regular polls at 7:00, if you got spirit and enough of it you could come back and vote again! The ones with the most drive and spirit wins! This does not even include superdelegates.

[iNow]

I showed up and stayed to caucus until 9:30 last night. I primaried two weeks ago. What exactly are you saying?

[ParanoiA]

We have a caucus here in Missouri too, on 3/15. Was thinking about going, even though I work saturdays and would have to burn a vacation day. I've never done the caucus thing before, and I'm not real sure how that relates with the primary we had back on Super Tuesday.

 

How does the caucus relate to the primary in Texas? Is it just an even split of delegates between the two systems? A kind of bicameral election method?

[Realitycheck]

You have the primary till 7:00. Then, after 7:00 (or early voting), you have the option to show up (again) and vote (again) from 7:00 till 12:00? on the caucus for another 1/3 of the popular delegates. All it does is represents who wants to work harder to get their vote enhanced while people who have more important things to do don't get counted.

 

It just counts for a third of the popular delegates, you don't get to vote in caucus unless you have already voted in the regular popular poll. It's just a really stupid exercise in redundancy. Caucus voters are not superdelegates, they just have more time on their hands or have a greater will to achieve their goals, or whatever reason might propel them to go out of their way to vote TWICE. What's the point?

[iNow]

How does the caucus relate to the primary in Texas?

Don't ask me why it's this way, but they call it the "Texas Two-Step."

 

The primary awards 2/3 of all delegates.

The caucus awards 1/3 of all delegates.

 

You can early vote in the primary the last week or two in February, or, cast your primary vote on March 4 (until 7PM).

 

Then, after 7PM, the precincts caucus, but you can only caucus if you've already voted in the primary. So, you show up, they validate that you cast a vote in the primary, then you write your name and address on a sheet of paper, as well as which candidate you want to win.

 

Then, they count the caucus votes and that's how 1/3 of the delegates are awarded. We're still awaiting the final count from Tuesday nights caucus, but Obama is currently leading thta. Hillary, however, won the primary.

 

It will be curious to see who comes out of it with more delegates...

[Bignose]

To really complicate things, not all votes are/were created equal in Texas. Each district was weighted based on the turnout in the last national election. The districts with the larger percentages of it's voters that voted Democratic last time got more weight. Democratic primary votes in Austin counted almost twice as much as a primary vote from the rural panhandle.

 

It really seems like a needlessly complex system. Vote, caucus, whatever -- pick one and stick with it. And, I really think that it is unfair to have your vote count less just because more people voted for Bush in your district. It's almost like they are punishing you for not going out an campaigning. I heard a radio interview where lots of people didn't realize that this was how the weighting system worked, and they chose not to go out and vote last time around because Bush was going to win Texas without a fight. So, they are being punished for living in a district with poor voter turnout. It really is unfair if you had gone out and voted last time. Maybe your vote should count less if you didn't vote last time -- that at least seems fair to me.