The Caucus System Needs To Go

There are several issues our elections face today; from the outdated two party system, outside money, the super rich and super pacs getting involved in politics. What I am writing about today is the caucus system that both the Republican and Democratic parties employ during their primary season. Currently, roughly 14 states (including Nebraska), DC, and all territories vote using this system.

Why is the caucus system so bad? Right off the bat it is complete chaos, if the votes are close or tied they are allowed to flip coins, draw sticks, draw cards to decide who is going to get that particular places delegates. This is not democracy. Not only that, it harbors bullies. Voting should be a private issue. You go in to your polling station get a ballot or go to an electronic machine, jut you and your thoughts as you go over the ballot. You make your selection, in private, and then turn your ballot in or record your ballot.

Caucuses are the complete opposite of this. You put a bunch of people in a room that is too small and then they argue back and forth about which candidate should be supported. Again, this allows the bullies among us to persuade people to vote against their interests or against their candidate.

The Nevada Democratic Caucus this past Saturday is a perfect example. The entrance polls showed what should have been a huge day for Bernie sanders. The caucusers were overwhelmingly liberal (70% either liberal or very liberal. When Clinton won in 2008 the majority of voters were moderate to conservative (that is her base). Going in Sanders held a double digit lead among Hispanic voters (the second largest ethnic group in Nevada). The majority of caucusers were more concerned about voting for someone that represented their interests instead of someone that could win in November. These should have all been very bad signs for Hillary Clinton. To top it off, the only categories she held leads in were people making over $50,000 and those 45 and older.

So all the entrance polls showed a huge day for Sanders and then something curious happened. The caucus captains delayed the votes, the said to allow everyone in, but then everyone was in and they were still delaying votes. This allowed the bullies in the crowd to start making their cases. The delays lasted so long that several precincts reported people just leaving.

The Republican Nevada Caucus is going on right now and even though the polls show Trump with a huge lead that means virtually nothing. In 2012 the last poll before the caucus showed Mitt Romney coming in a disappointing third. Not only did he win but he won by double digits.

Again it is time to get rid of the caucus system but it will not happen anytime soon and the reason why is simple. It is cheaper for a state to run a caucus than a primary.