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Iowa Caucuses are tonight

Doors close at 7 p.m.

The 2020 Iowa Caucuses will begin tonight. Caucus-goers of both major political parties are advised to arrive to their caucus sites early, as doors close promptly at 7 p.m. and late arrivals will not be allowed to participate.

Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses are run by state parties, not by state government. Caucus-goers must be registered to the party for which they are caucusing, but can register with that party at the door.

In Webster County, there are several different locations for the Democratic caucuses. Each precinct has a different location, which can be found in an info box within this issue of The Messenger, or by visiting iowademocrats.org/2020-caucuses.

In each precinct, participants will gather in a group for the candidate they support, according to Julie Geopfert, chair of the Webster County Democrats.

“We will count the number of people there to establish viability for presidential groups,” she said.

Viability is defined as a candidate having at least 15 percent of support from the people in the room.

If a group is not viable after the first allocation, participants will have a chance to move to a different group if they want, Geopfert said. However, new this year is a rule that once a participant’s group is established as “viable,” those group members are locked into that group and cannot move to a different candidate’s group.

For the Republican party in Webster County, there will be only one caucus site — Decker Auditorium on the main campus of Iowa Central Community College. All precincts will meet at this site.

Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the caucus starting at 7 p.m.

Even with a sitting U.S. president, the Republicans will still hold a vote, according to Jim Oberhelman, chairman of the Webster County Republican Party.


How the caucuses work and where to caucus

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa shares key facts for the Iowa caucuses:

• The caucuses start at 7 p.m. sharp. Arrive early, because once the caucus starts, late-comers will not be allowed in.

• You must be registered to the party for which you are caucusing. That means you must be a registered Democrat to participate in the Democratic caucus, and you must be a registered Republican to participate in the Republican caucus.

• If you are not registered to a party or are registered to a different party, you can still caucus. You can change your party registration at your precinct caucus.

• You must reside in the precinct where you are caucusing.

• You must be eligible to vote. If you have not registered to vote yet, you will be able to do this at your precinct caucus.

• You must be 18 years old by election day.

• Precinct caucus may last anywhere from an hour to several hours, depending on the size of the caucus. You are allowed to leave at any point.

Caucus to

Convention

• Precinct caucuses are just a first step in Iowa’s presidential nomination process. Both the Democratic and Republican caucuses follow the same basic procedural pathway:

Precinct Caucuses (February): These happen at the neighborhood level. Here, individuals indicate a preference for president, elect delegates to represent their precinct at the county level, and discuss resolutions.

County Conventions (March): The delegates elected from the precincts go to the county Conventions, vote on resolutions to be sent to the district level, and elect delegates to go to the District Conventions, and on to the State Conventions.

District Conventions (usually April): Resolutions approved at the county conventions will be combined and voted on at the District Conventions. From here, they are sent to the party to become part of the party platform.

State Conventions (usually May): Delegates for the national convention are selected and the state party platform is finalized.

Democratic Caucuses

Precinct, Location, Address, Room

Precinct 1: Fort Dodge Senior High, 819 N. 25th St., Cafeteria.

Precinct 2: Fort Dodge Middle School, 800 N. 32nd St., Cafeteria.

Precinct 3: Lion’s Den, 731 Exposition Drive.

Precinct 4: Fort Dodge Middle School 800 N. 32nd St., Floor 1, Blue Pod.

Precinct 5: Friendship Haven, 420 Kenyon Road, Celebration Center.

Precinct 6: Elderbridge Agency on Aging, 308 Central Ave.

Precinct 7: Fort Dodge Middle School, 800 N. 32nd St., Floor 1, Gold Pod.

Precinct 8: Fort Dodge Senior High, 819 N. 25th St., Little Theatre.

Precinct 9: Fort Dodge Middle School, 800 N. 32nd St., 2nd Floor, Orange Pod.

Precinct 10: Fort Dodge Middle School, 800 N. 32nd St., 2nd Floor, Plum Pod.

Precinct 11: Fort Dodge Senior High, 819 N. 25th St., Gym

Precinct 12: Fort Dodge Senior High, 819 N. 25th St., Library

Badger/NW Cooper: Badger Fire Station, 158 Second St. N.E.

Cooper: Fort Dodge Middle School, 800 N. 32nd St., First Floor, Orange Pod.

Colfax/Duncombe: Duncombe Tornado Shelter, 501 Folger St.

Dayton/Butler: Dayton Community Center, 508 Second St. N.W.

Deer Creek: Clare Community Center, 203 N. Hood St.

Clay/Roland: Callender Library, 505 Thomas St.

Douglas: Iowa Central Community College, Bioscience and Health Sciences Building Room 207

Elkhorn: Webster County Fairgrounds, 22770 Old Highway 169.

Fulton: Moorland Community Center, 416 Third St. W.

Gowrie: Community Center, 1206 Market St.

Johnson: Barnum Fire Station, 416 East St.

Lost Grove: Faith Lutheran Church, 113 N. Ash.

Newark: Vincent 102 S. First St.

Pleasant Valley/Otho: Otho Community Center, 220 Rake St.

SWYH: Golden Memories Club, 114 Main St.

Washington: Duncombe Tornado Shelter, 501 Folger St.

To Find Your Precinct

• To find your precinct location, visit iowademocrats.org/2020-caucuses

Republican Caucus

• Webster County Republicans will meet at Decker Auditorium on the main campus of Iowa Central Community College.

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